Ab- und Zusagen | Gedanken eines Galeristen – Groupshow

Even gallerists think—actually, always. Especially intensely in times like these. Not only from time to time. After all, it is not enough to act intuitively, to search for creative ways of presentation, to motivate artists, or to satisfy collectors and art lovers. It is also not enough to plan exhibitions, to organize carefully, to work hard, to talk a lot, to live one’s passion for the gallery, and to sell artworks.

The gallerist must also think, must anticipate, and must recognize future possibilities in the present. A given situation may change—sometimes gradually, sometimes abruptly. And occasionally, the unforeseen overrides what was planned. From time to time, confirmations are followed by cancellations.

Artworks were meant to travel. New works by Tammam Azzam, Farshad Farzankia, Nick Dawes, Hiba Al-Ansari, Rusudan Khizanishvili, Stéphane Couturier, Hubertus Hamm, and Vera Pagava were supposed to journey from Berlin to Art Dubai, Paris Photo New York, and Frieze New York.

Shutdown. Lockdown. Confirmations. Cancellations.

That can happen from time to time, the gallerist thinks. Occasionally artists cancel, occasionally collectors cancel. This time, however, it is a collective, global cancellation. And so the gallerist tries to understand the current events—just as friends of art try to read and interpret images.

Cancel? Confirm?

These extraordinary times offer us the opportunity to pause for a moment, to reflect on what truly matters, to feel what is happening, and to become aware of its consequences—at least from time to time.

And so, the gallerist thinks, the new works should also be allowed to rest. Not in desert states or megacities, but in springtime Berlin. In our project space 68projects, on Fasanenstraße 68 in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Works that spread the artists’ vitality, radiate the power of colour composition, inhale and exhale the scent of hope, and revive the spirit of confidence.

So that the friends of the gallery may occasionally say: It is good. It is good that the gallerist thinks—and that he confirms when others cancel.

#KunstNothilfe – www.elinor.network

In times like these, uncertainty is also immense for many artists and cultural workers. Theatres are closed, concerts cancelled, exhibitions postponed. As a result, tens of thousands of people are losing their income.

KunstNothilfe, an initiative by Elinor, a platform for collective property and solidarity, aims to help by collecting donations that can be distributed quickly and without bureaucracy.

Galerie Kornfeld supports KunstNothilfe by offering a series of four new photographs by Hubertus Hamm, in an edition of 25 copies at EUR 250 each. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to KunstNothilfe. Production costs are borne by the artist; packaging and shipping within the EU are covered by Galerie Kornfeld.

“As I realized what might be coming with the coronavirus, I tried to find a way to translate this omnipresent, invisible threat photographically in Munich’s Englischer Garten. If these images help other artists, the circle is complete.”
— Hubertus Hamm