Information Lounges 2005

Projekt:   „tubing sculptures“
Künstler:  Andrew Simsak & Cynthia Randolph

Andrew Simsak and Cynthia Randolph are concerned with the yearning to break out of the limits of one’s own body and to transform oneself into something else, beyond our physical existence. The American artists materialize these imaginings with expansive stagings of soft objects made of vinyl. As in the human body, the elements water and air circulate through these interconnected “tubing sculptures”. The DaimlerChrysler Financial Services and the Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Michigan, USA honored Andrew Simsak and Cynthia Randolph’s work with the Emerging Artist Award, which was given this year for the second time.

In the Press Lounge of the ART FORUM BERLIN 2006, Andrew Simsak and Cynthia Randolph install their “tubing sculptures” in combination with a video projection against a light blue backdrop. The result is an organic room structure in which the international media representatives can work undisturbed or converse with colleagues or interview partners.

Projekt:   ‚Der zerbrochene Krug’
Künstler:  Gitte Schäfer
courtesy:  Kunstfabrik am Flutgraben e.V. / Galerie Mehdi Chouakri

Projekt:   Posterarbeit
Künstler:  Ulrike Kuschel
courtesy:  Kunstfabrik am Flutgraben e.V. / Galerie Klosterfelde
Photo:     © Stefan Maria Rother

Ulrike Kuschel’s works are concerned with German history; she takes up themes like National Socialism and the history of communist East Germany. For this artist educated at Berlin’s Hochschule der Künste (College of Fine Arts), not only historical research, but also the use of various techniques of reproduction and the combination/juxtaposition of photography and text play important roles. Her poster work “Exhibition Halls at the Radio Tower 1926 — 1954” in the library area of the ART FORUM BERLIN documents 30 exhibitions, trade fairs, and political events during this period. At the center of each poster is a quotation from the respective exhibition or trade fair catalog that indicates the usually political orientation of the events; here, Ulrike Kuschel finds it especially important to draw attention to the respective speech gesture and thematic emphasis.

GASAG Support Prize 2006

Projekt:  rotating figure inscribing a circle
Künstler: Peter Welz
courtesy: Kunstfabrik am Flutgraben e.V. / Peter Welz

At this year’s ART FORUM BERLIN, the sculptor Peter Welz, educated in Dublin, New York, and London is showing a video sculpture concerned primarily with the human figure in space. He regards himself as a sculptor who uses bodies, spaces, and cameras to create video sculptures. For the ART FORUM BERLIN, Peter Welz projects recorded motion onto three white walls, thus making use of a strict architecture that gives him the possibility to show his work in a bright, open room. Years of active interest in Samuel Beckett’s work have thematically influenced his works

GASAG Support Prize 2006

Projekt:    Illy Lounge
Künstler:   Paul Snowden
                     Raumtaktik (Friedrich von Borries und Matthias Böttger) 

Das Artforum ist am kleinen Stern noch nicht zu Ende, die Sonderausstellung „BIG CITY LAB“ folgt in Halle 11.2 Die Big-Lab-Lounge schafft den fließenden Übergang und schleust durch das übliche Messetreppenhaus aus den 70er Jahren in die schöne neue Welt. Statt das Hässliche zu überdecken, zu verstecken, mit Einbauten zu glätten lässt raumtaktik den Raum sichtbar und ergänzte das Vorhandene durch ein transparente Ebene: gazeartige Vorhänge, die das dahinter liegende geheimnisvoll durchscheinen lassen. Auf leuchtend-roten Podesten kann man in von Kartell zur Verfügung gestellten Sitzmöbel relaxen und den von Illy bereiteten Espresso genießen. Die durchscheinende Gaze dient gleichzeitig als Präsentationsfläche für die Arbeiten von Paul Snowden, der die graphische Gestaltung des BIG CITY LAB verantwortet.

Minimalistische, kostengünstige aber ästhetisch herausfordernde Interventionen wie die Big-Lab-Lounge, die nichts verstecken, sondern gerade im konsequenten Umgang mit dem - räumlich und ökonomisch – Gegebenen arbeiten, sind der Schwerpunkt der oft nicht baulichen, sondern eben taktischen Arbeiten der beiden Raumtaktiker Friedrich von Borries und Matthias Böttger. Im „BIG CITY LAB“-Katalog veröffentlichen sie parallel den Text „Bleib geschmeidig“, der den Zusammenhang von räumlicher Zwischennutzung und hochflexiblen Arbeitsbedingungen im Kunstbetrieb erläutert.

Monopol Lounge
Lounge especially designed by Coordination Berlin for Monopol

Monopol-Magazine for Art and Living. The Lounge
The Monopol-Lounge at the ART FORUM BERLIN

The Monopol Lounge is like the magazine Monopol itself: in the thick of art events, and yet a site of relaxation.

The Monopol Lounge thereby presents itself in an unusual combination of design and pleasure. The Berlin designers from Coordination created it exclusively for the art fair and Monopol.

In this lounge atmosphere, the Brandenburger Hof, a synonym for the hotel business with style in Berlin, offers fine dining from its starred kitchen, the restaurant “Die Quadriga”.

Join us in indulging in a short break from the bustle of the art fair. There is no better place for deciding whether to really buy that special picture. Nowhere else can one hide so well from burdensome interlocutors. And nowhere else at this art fair can one have fifteen minutes with the pleasant feeling of being a few meters above everything — with a glass of champagne or a cup of cappuccino in one’s hand.

VIP Lounge 2005 by Villa Harteneck

Living with art — the art of living is the credo of Villa Harteneck.

The positive development of ART FORUM BERLIN encouraged us to design the VIP-Lounge. Visitors will find stimulation and relaxation in order to be able to dive back into the fair refreshed. We hope to convey a piece of Berlin savoir vivre with our contribution.