007 - Bike Tour with Strength and Sensitivity in Airplane Mode

Yorgos Sapountzis, 2020, market square, Storkow (Mark)

Lake District with an Arty Charm

Hello Smart Art Lover,

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. 28 artists from 28 European countries display their flags on numerous masts between the towns of Storkow (Mark) and Bad Saarow alongside the banks of the Great Storkow and Scharmützel lakes.

After 2 hours travelling on public transport I stand a bit lost at the Storkow railway station. With the map on their website and a little sense of direction I finally find the tourist information in the castle complex. There I arm myself with a folding exhibition map and start the discovery tour, which will take me to the station in Bad Saarow after three sunny hours. I quickly find my favourite. At the Storkow market, instead of a flag, the clothes of the artist Yorgos Sapountzis hang on the mast. And I like Raul Walch's collection of handmade flags, the contemporary master of robust textile structures.

I quickly realise the disadvantage of the exhibition concept. When the wind is not blowing strongly, every proud textile canvas turns into nothing but a dreary rag of fabric. I also have the impression that many artists have taken the flag as a pure image carrier and have not looked into the special features of its form. I don't have to go there for the flags alone, it makes more sense to admire them on a digital screen. Nevertheless, the project achieves its real goal of promoting daily tourism to this region. For a very nice bike tour with an arty charm, this Sunday trip is definitely worthwhile.

Showing True Colors
with
Paul McDevitt, Jasmina Cibic, Yorgos Sapountzis, Daniel Gustav Cramer & Haris Espaminonda, Soil Collective, Vikenti Komitski, Roman Ondak, Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa, Alexandra Pace, Daiga Grantina, Raul Walch, Nelson Pernisco, Catherine Lorent Miia Autio, Ronald de Bloeme, novel Štėtina, Veronica Brovall, Paul McDevitt, Eva Grubinger, Decan Clarke, Sophie Erlund, Agnè Juodvalkytè, Riccardo Previdi, Carlos Noronha Feio, Kris Lemsalu, Nika Radic, Zuza Golinska, Mark Fridvalszki, Daniel Knorr
A project by Infected Landscapes
(Lena-Marie Emrich and Susanne Prinz)
July 26 - October 30, 2020
Oder-Spree Lake District between Storkow (Mark) and Bad Saarow

Darrel Ellis, Self-Portrait
Courtesy Darrel Ellis Archive, Courtesy Galerie Crone, Berlin Wien & Osmos, New York

Offline favourite of the week

Until Saturday, the CRONE Gallery in Fasanenstraße is showing one of my absolute favourites of this year's summer exhibitions: Darrel Ellis. This contemporary of 1980s queer New York subculture was a victim of the first wave of AIDS and died in 1992 at the age of 33. His father ran a photography studio in Harlem, and as a young man he inherited the negatives that became the basis of his later works. He used the technique of cutting and rearranging, as it is also used in Hip Hop with its sampling and scratching. He reflected in his art methods what will lead the music of his time to later world fame. At the same time he created drawings that combine a very high level of skill with strength and sensitivity. Rediscovered by the New York curator Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, I hope to see much more of this artist. Absolutely worth seeing!

Darrel Ellis
Matter
June 27 - August 29, 2020
Gallery Crone, Berlin

Laurel Schwulst and soft, Ode to Airplane Mode

Online Favourite of the week

This time I focus on the very special program of the left gallery, which is specialized in digital art. And also part of the BerlinViews Platform. My favourite is for all mobile phone owners who want to work without interruption. The flight simulator Ode to Airplane Mode by Laurel Schwulst and soft transforms undisturbed time into an aesthetic experience. I set which airports I want to board and disembark at, activate Airplane Mode and feel the passage of time through the changing colours through a digital airplane window. What a nice art gadget!

Flight Simulator
Ode to Airplane Mode
flightsimulator.soft.works

Be brave, gentle and smart.

Yours,
Florian