Slowly the vaccination is rolling out, an arctic wind is blowing through Berlin and everybody around me seems weary of Lockdown. Last week I went on an afternoon tour after a long break.

In February, the galleries and institutions remained closed, and I could only see exhibitions through shop windows or digitally. So I'm definitely looking forward to the end of the lockdown and the possibility to seeing art up close, though likely equipped with an FFP2 mask and hand disinfectant. Yeah! I got a foretaste this week at the latest addition to the Berlin art scene.

The lockdown in this grey wintery city with few highlights and only the digital world as a constant companion shows once again that the art world lives from direct exchanges with other people. Plus, writing a newsletter about exhibitions when I'm not allowed to see any is an art form I'm yet to master. But what can you do at the moment?

Shocked, I realised last week that I haven't been to an exhibition in a month. Due to the tightened rules of the pandemic, things have changed, not only in my own life, but also in the contemporary art world.

First of all I would like to introduce you to another art magazine from Berlin. The Monopol - Magazin für Kunst (magazine for art and life) aims to embody the principle of art equals lifestyle equals celebrity culture and has already experienced some changes.

Today I will conclude the swan song with the most dazzling of all Berlin private collectors - Julia Stoschek.

In my search for Berlin art magazines I found the arts of the working class . The title sounds as if Karl Marx had published an illustrated book in addition to Kapital. The front page irritates me with letters in Cyrillic and the pink panther.

The swan song still sounds over the Spree. After Flick and Olbricht , I am today focusing on the Haubrok Collection. After a two year ban on exhibitions, Haubrok invited the public to the open days at the weekend and to the rooms of the foundation in Mitte. What happened?

Are you ready to get to experience another Berlin art magazine? In contrast to the elitist small talk of BLAU, KubaParis - Zeitschrift für Junge Kunst online screams at you.

Do you still remember the swan song of the Berlin art world ? Apart from the Flick Collection in Hamburger Bahnhof, I also mentioned Thomas Olbricht, who has already left Berlin with his collection.

Last week a friend forwarded me a three-year-old article by critic Wolfgang Ulrich, which in my opinion fits very well with two prominent group exhibitions in the city, the Berlin Biennale and Studio Berlin in Berghain.

Before the start of Berlin Art Week, I took advantage of the calm before the storm to address a topic that has been in the media for some time. The end of Berlin as an art city.

Following my trip to Schwante some weeks ago, on Sunday I went to the Oder-Spree lake district for an exhibition parcours with the very original title Showing True Colors. After 2 hours travelling on public transport I stand a bit lost at the railway station.

The middle of August is a good time to write about the fireworks of the Berlin art world in September. Especially this year.

In search of inspiration for my newsletter, I followed the intelligent advice of a smart book: buy a new magazine every month and use the most interesting article.

Last Sunday I drove with a friend to Schwante Castle
to visit the sculpture garden. With high expectations I walked through the park in the pouring rain. And I am disappointed.

In preparation for my BerlinViews tours, I visited all the galleries on the platform and had the good fortune of being guided personally by Daniel Marzona around his current drawing exhibition.

Far from the reality of our lives, last week at Sotheby's, Christie's and Co., millions of dollars were put on the table to auction off Francis Bacon and Picasso, amongst other artist works. Good for them. Now, It's auction time in Berlin too.

As something that has been given an enormous boost by the lockdown situation, what is the art world's position on digitalization?