Berlin

DIENST AN DER NOTWENDIGKEIT

2012-01-02T07:35:00.000-08:00

FLORIAN WÜST

AT MASA BERLIN #8 HOSTED BY

ARCHIVE BOOKS

DIEFFENBACHSTRASSE 31 • 10967 BERLIN

U8 Schönleinstrasse

OPENING • SATURDAY • 14 JANUARY 2012 • 7 pm

EXHIBITION • SUNDAY • 15 JANUARY 2012 • 3-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

Florian Wüst's (*1970) ongoing artistic research project DIENST AN DER NOTWENDIGKEIT

[SERVICE TO NECESSITY] examines shifting forms of political protest. The story of Hartmut

Gründler, a West German teacher and anti-nuclear energy activist who burned himself publicly

in 1977, hereby functions as a vantage point. Besides the tragic course of this swift path to

self-immolation, set as an example of resistance against "continued governmental

misinformation" in nuclear policy, Gründler stands out as a great communicator and author of

countless pamphlets and open letters. For MASA BERLIN #8, Wüst presents various artefacts,

fabricated and real, that reflect and actualize Gründler's manic writing, verbal sophistication

and critique of technocratic language. For more information please click here: www.fwuest.com

UNVERMEIDBAR

2011-12-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

ASLI SUNGU

AT MASA BERLIN #7 HOSTED BY

WEST GERMANY

SKALITZER STRASSE 133 • 10999 BERLIN

U1 Kottbusser Tor

OPENING • SATURDAY • 3 DECEMBER • 7 pm

EXHIBITION • SUNDAY • 4 DECEMBER 2011 • 3-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

For MASA BERLIN #7, the Berlin-based artist Asli Sungu (*1975) presents her video installation

UNVERMEIDBAR [INEVITABLE]. The films show four daily domestic situations, in which the

artist loses control; the viewer is tempted to prevent these mishaps by wanting to physically

intervene. The surface of a mirror captures the reflections of the little accidents and

simultaneously represents the boundaries of intervention. The theme of UNVERMEIDBAR is

helplessness, a feeling that we try to manage and control by intervening in situations in order

to withstand the uncontrollable emotional experience. The intentional actions and the attempt

to intervene metaphorically reveal futility and loss in the form of familiar activities.

VIRUS/SUPERSTAR

2011-12-15T16:56:00.000-08:00

YUKI JUNGESBLUT

AT MASA BERLIN #6 HOSTED BY

tamtamART

WEICHSELSTR. 8 • 10247 BERLIN

U5 Frankfurter Allee

OPENING • SATURDAY • 19 NOVEMBER • 8 pm

EXHIBITION • SUNDAY • 20 NOVEMBER 2011 • 3-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

For MASA BERLIN Berlin-based artist Yuki Jungesblut (*1974) explores the metaphoric power

of the concepts virus and superstar in our everyday life. Originated in the sciences in the last

century, the term virus has since entered other fields (»computer virus« p.e.). The superstar is

also a creation of the 20th century and closely linked to mass media. In a growing mental map

of associations, the artist invites the audience at MASA BERLIN to either draw, write down, or

verbally communicate ideas concerning notions of VIRUS/SUPERSTAR. Jungesblut will

subsequently structure and model the collected remarks in the further development of the

project. More info you can find here: yukijungesblut.net and www.tamtamart.de.

110x150+140cm

2011-12-15T16:37:00.001-08:00

WILEY HOARD

AT MASA BERLIN #5 HOSTED BY

GRIMMUSEUM
FICHTESTR. 2 • 10967 BERLIN

OPENING • SATURDAY • 1 OCTOBER 2011 • 7 pm

EXHIBITION • SUNDAY • 2 OCTOBER 2011 • 2-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

For MASA BERLIN US-American artist Wiley Hoard (*1984) relates the dimensions of the MASA (Turkish for „table“) to his own working table. Adapted to the size of the MASA, Hoard‘s work 110x150+140cm shows the humble abstract beauty of the traces and remnants of artistic work and recognizes the unforeseen possibilities of a banal object. In line with his other works, Hoard investigates, challenges, and elaborates on existing systems. Installed in the office of the Grimmuseum, a non-profit artist-run exhibition space, MASA BERLIN #5 is a grateful guest of the simultaneously occurring exhibition, Never Odd or Even‘ curated by Solvej Helweg Ovesen.

RAJ

2011-07-06T03:32:00.000-07:00

NATALIA STACHON

AT MASA BERLIN #4 HOSTED BY
MISCHEN
ERKELENZDAMM 11-13 • 10999 BERLIN

U8 KOTTBUSSER TOR

OPENING • SATURDAY • 9 JULY 2011 • 7 pm

EXHIBITION • SUNDAY • 10 JULY 2011 • 2-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

NATALIA STACHON (*1976 Katowice, Poland) shows her installation RAJ. “‘Raj’ is Polish for ‘paradise’, but in everyday use the term ‘jak w raju’ donates something that is too good to be true” writes Dorothea Strauss. Stachon chose very thin copper sheets in A4 size and, in a laborious almost meditative process, hand-polished them to a high gloss. The sheets are so thin that they really seem almost like sheets of paper. Stachon crumpled each of these copper sheets like letters one wishes to rewrite. Here, the act of crumpling additionally turns into a sculptural gesture. Time is one of the themes this poetic work touches upon – the successive oxidation through air, breath, or touch. In parallel with RAJ, Stachon presents her new catalogue Natalia Stachon. Matter Shifted, edited by Dorothea Strauss for the Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich and designed by Vera Rammelmeyer from MISCHEN, the July-host of MASA BERLIN.

Special thanks to: Barbara Bättig, Sven Holm, Harri Kuhn, Mardo Ohanoğlu, Jens Teitge, Vera Rammelmeyer and Vahit Tuna

MERSIN

2011-06-17T04:41:00.001-07:00

HALEH REDJAIAN

AT MASA BERLIN #3 HOSTED BY

BETAHAUS
PRINZESSINNENSTRASSE 19-20 • 10969 BERLIN

U8 MORITZPLATZ

OPENING • FRIDAY • 3 JUNE 2011 • 7 pm

EXHIBITION • SATURDAY • 4 JUNE 2011 • 2-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

HALEH REDJAIAN’S (*1971 in Frankfurt/M) visual research explores the creation of variable patterns and organizational systems derived from primary forms such as lines, triangles and grids. Both patterns and systems are highly pliable and are developed directly from objects and architectural fragments found inthe artist’s immediate surroundings. This fluency allows for the creation of a new visual space that is notfixed but has the capacity to manifest and regenerate itself in different ways. The work for MASA BERLIN, MERSIN, was inspired by a Turkish woven cloth pattern Redjaian came across in a book on textiles of the Islamic world. MASA BERLIN installed in the cafeteria of the Betahaus, a workspace for creative freelancers, opens up a dialogue between the MASA BERLIN Project and the simultaneously occurring International Design Festival DMY.

Special thanks to: Sven Holm, Madeleine von Mohl, Mardo Ohanoğlu, Jens Teitge and Vahit Tuna

ONE SPIT DEEP

2011-05-04T05:21:00.000-07:00

ANNIKA RIXEN

AT MASA BERLIN #2 HOSTED BY

GOLDRAUSCH KÜNSTLERINNENPROJEKT
HÄNDELALLEE 1 • PAVILLON IM HANSAVIERTEL • 10557 BERLIN

S-BAHN TIERGARTEN • U9 HANSAPLATZ

OPENING • FRIDAY • 6 MAY 2011 • 4-10 pm

EXHIBITION • SATURDAY • 7 MAY 2011 • 2-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

ONE SPIT DEEP When starting a garden plot, one spit (a spade’s depth) is generally considered the minimum depth of soil needed to grow healthy plants. In One Spit Deep, 2011, Annika Rixen uses the MASA table vitrine to frame an artistic process that began with excavating a garden plot. While digging, the abnormally rocky soil on the grounds of the former Grünflachenamt (now the Atelierhof Kreuzberg where Rixen’s studio is located) provided a continuous disruption. In response, Rixen sorted, cleaned and transferred the removed stones to the Goldrausch-Pavillon. In return, the dimensions of the MASA vitrine have dictated the depth, width and breadth of the vegetable garden – a permanent installation that will outlive its counterpart in the exhibition. www.annikarixen.de

Special thanks to: Birgit Effinger, Martin Fuller, Wiley Hoard, Sven Holm, Nuri Koerfer, Hannah Kruse, Mardo Ohanoğlu and Vahit Tuna

WHAT IS NOT WAITING OUT THERE

2011-04-09T03:48:00.000-07:00

LEBASI AGIMHCS

AT MASA BERLIN #1 HOSTED BY

SALON POPULAIRE

BÜLOWSTRASSE 90 • 10783 BERLIN

U1 KURFÜRSTENSTRASSE • U2 BÜLOWSTRASSE • U7 YORCKSTRASSE

OPENING • 09 APRIL 2011 • 8 pm

EXHIBITION • 10 APRIL 2011 • 2-7 pm

MASA BERLIN is initiated and organized by Isabel Schmiga and Sandra Teitge.

MASA SPREAD YOURSELF! Masa is the Turkish word for table and simultaneously provides the title for the mobile and independent exhibition space MASA BERLIN. It is an alterable table vitrine, which appeared for the first time in 2006. Its origins lie in Istanbul, where it was initiated by artist Vahit Tuna as a space for contemporary art. Tuna’s MASA has to this date presented appr. 40 independent exhibitions at always changing locations in Istanbul. In 2011, MASA multiplied and starting from April its offspring will invade Berlin’s artistic and urban landscape. Accommodated by self-organized non-profit art spaces, bookshops and theaters, MASA BERLIN will also occupy the street, public and semi-public spaces. In-between-space itself, MASA – a table set with art – will appear in in-between-spaces, attest them, open up a dialogue and simply embody the notion of hospitality.  

MASA BERLIN - BEING HOSTED AS THE HOST To invite has a twofold meaning in Hebrew and means additional to its conventional use also »to make time«. The notion of double hospitality, triggered via its peregrination and its halt at the most different locations, will be framed by a condensed and focused two-day exhibition format.

In today's world, Masa will stand as an alternative to big budget projects, institutionalized art, galleries that work with only a group of well established names, and it will head for a younger production overall. »As an extension that excludes art created for the system, as an environment that aims to compose an area with no boundaries for the Artist, MASA welcomes everyone!« Vahit Tuna

Special thanks to:  Ellen Blumenstein, Fuller Cowles, Wiley Hoard, Önder Özengi, Mardo Ohanoğlu, Jens Teitge and Vahit Tuna

Contact: masa.berlin.info@googlemail.com