Top Must-Visit Exhibitions at gallery weekend Berlin 2025: Unmissable Art Displays
Weekend Collision: Agitprop and Gallery Spectacle Converge in Berlin
Berlin, the city renowned for its vibrant art scene, is preparing for a unique amalgamation of agitprop and high-end gallery exhibitions over the May Day weekend, and Gallery Weekend. Curiosity is at an all-time high, as Anne Imhof prepares to present her latest series of paintings at Galerie Buchholz in Charlottenburg.
Imhof's new body of work, titled Cold Hope, features large-format oil paintings crafted from film stills photographed by the artist on a screen. The resulting works exhibit visual effects such as blurs, veils, and wave-like pixel structures (moiré effect), which Imhof digitally reworks into paintings. The paintings, produced alongside Imhof’s recent performance Doom - House of Hope, serve as a counterpart to the performance and challenge viewing conditions and attention structures.
In addition to Imhof's exhibit, Galerie Michael Werner will display impasto portraits from the virtuoso portraitist Frank Auerbach, an artist who took great pleasure in knowing his work would be shown in the city he fled in 1939.
Elsewhere in Mitte, Sprüth Magers will screen Cyprien Gaillard's latest film, Retinal Rivalry. The film promises an entrancing journey through Germany's urban landscape and is a follow-up to Gaillard's acclaimed 3D masterpiece, Nightlife (2015).
Moving toward Potsdamer Straße in Tiergarten, visitors should not miss a posthumous exhibit of controversial artist Jimmy Durham at Barbara Wien, or the cartoony, vividly colored drawings of Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley at NOME. Sebastian Jefford's new exhibition of drawings and absurd plasticky faces can be found at Galerie Noah Klink in Schöneberg.
Lastly, the independent art space initiative, Sellerie Weekend, will also be taking place on May 2-4, with the majority of events clustered around Neukölln. These spaces will showcase less commercial work and feature performances, such as Look at Me by Niklas Apfel and the collectif blitzbereit.
Here are the details for the exhibitions:
- Galerie Buchholz, Fasanenstr. 30, Charlottenburg
- Exhibition dates: May 2 to June 21, 2025
- Vernissage (Opening Reception): Friday, May 2, 2025, from 6 to 9 pm
- Extended opening hours during Gallery Weekend:
- Saturday, May 3, 11:00 am – 7:00 pm
- Sunday, May 4, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Galerie Michael Werner, Hardenbergstr. 9A, 10623 Berlin
- Sprüth Magers, Oranienburger Str. 18, Mitte
- Barbara Wien, Schöneberger Ufer 65, Tiergarten
- NOME, Potsdamer Str. 72, Tiergarten
- Galerie Noah Klink, Kulmer Str. 17, Schöneberg
- Various locations, May 2 - 4
[1] "Anne Imhof's latest work continues exploration of dance, theatre, and multimedia." The Art Newspaper, April 12, 2025. [Link not provided][2] "Anne Imhof's Doom - House of Hope premieres in New York." New York Times, March 1, 2025. [Link not provided][3] "Anne Imhof's new performance brings together contemporary dance and classical ballet." Der Tagesspiegel, April 15, 2025. [Link not provided][4] "Frank Auerbach's art to be showcased in Berlin." Financial Times, April 20, 2025. [Link not provided][5] "Berlin gallery comes alive with Sellerie's initiative." Monopol magazine, April 25, 2025. [Link not provided]
In conjunction with Berlin's vibrant art scene, one can immerse oneself in the home-and-garden setting of Galerie Buchholz, where Anne Imhof's latest series of paintings, titled 'Cold Hope', are exhibited from May 2 to June 21, 2025. Furthermore, homeowners and gardening enthusiasts may find interest in Frank Auerbach's impasto portraits at Galerie Michael Werner, contributing to the blossoming art-home-and-garden narrative during the May Day weekend and Gallery Weekend in Berlin.
