Die Berliner Sammlung Dr. Carl Theodor Gottlob ... - KUNST Magazin

Andreas Gursky: Ocean V, 0 0
Chromogenic Print, 66,4 x 4 ,4 x 6,4 cm (gerahmt)
© Andreas Gursky/ VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 0 0
Courtesy: Sprüth Magers Berlin London
hin zu Dokumentationen über bedeutende Künstler
und Kunstströmungen sowie Dokumentationen,
die sich mit Kunst- und Architekturgeschichte
auseinandersetzen.
Die Gründung des Art Forums im Jahr 6 hat
damals die Aufmerksamkeit der Galeristinnen auf
die Hauptstadt gelenkt, doch anfangs war noch nicht
abzuschätzen, ob die Stadt vom Hype verschluckt
werden würde. Berlin hat sich jedoch zu einem
wichtigen kulturellen Zentrum entwickelt, in dem der
Kunstdiskurs aktiv geführt wird. Das macht die Stadt
auch für internationale Künstler attraktiv: „Wer in
Deutschland ausstellen will, geht nach Berlin.“
Monika Sprüth und Philomene Magers betreiben
klassische Galeriearbeit und halten sich vom Kunst-
Hype der letzten Jahre fern. Nicht nur die Räume
strahlen Ruhe und Klarheit aus, sondern auch die
Arbeiten der Künstler, die darin ausstellen. Die
Galeristinnen verstehen sich als Dienstleisterinnen
und Beraterinnen für Künstler. Sie unterstützen sie
bei ihrer Entwicklung, schützen sie vor zu schneller
Produktion und versuchen, die richtigen (nicht
die zahlungskräftigsten) Käufer zu finden und die
Arbeiten in Museen zu platzieren. Sie vertreten die
Meinung: „Gute Kunst wird es immer geben. Künstler,
0
Over the long run, this shop – very much a project that
has been planned as a work-in-progress – will attempt
to collect all the important film documents beginning
with the key works of the silent movie era, the film
works of fine artists, and the documentaries on major
artists and art trends as well as documentaries dealing
with the history of art and architecture.
The foundation of the Art Forum in 6 was what
initially attracted the gallerists’ attention to the capital,
but at first it was difficult to figure out whether the
city was being swallowed up by its own hype. And yet
since then Berlin has evolved into an important cultural
centre where art discourse is actively pursued. This
also makes the city attractive for international artists:
“If you want to exhibit in Germany, go to Berlin.”
Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers do gallery work
in the classical sense, and they have maintained their
distance to the art hype of recent years. The rooms
at their gallery exude an air of calm and clarity, as do
the works of the artists exhibited here. The gallerists
see themselves as service personnel and consultants
for artists. They support them in their development,
protecting them from excessively swift production, and
they try to find the right (not just the most affluent)
buyers and to place the artists’ work in museums. In
their opinion: “There will always be good art. Artists
who are supported by good gallerists as they produce
and begin to exhibit their works also have a real
chance of successfully positioning their works within
the art market.” Such is the motto they remain faithful
to. An example of this is Andreas Schulze, whose
works Monika Sprüth exhibited at the opening of her
gallery in . Since then Schulze has remained in
the programme, and last year he was exhibited at the
London branch. A retrospective of the artist’s oeuvre
will be on display beginning in May at the Falckenberg
Collection in Hamburg. Rosemarie Trockel and Jenny
Holzer have also been with the gallery from its first few
years onwards. The Sprüth Magers gallery programme
is full of still other luminous names, such as Louise
Lawler, Cindy Sherman, Andrea Zittel and the young
Georgian Thea Djordjadze. Richard Artschwager,
John Baldessari, Thomas Demand, Fischli/Weiss,
Donald Judd, Ed Ruscha and Joseph Kosuth are also
represented. And new to the programme is the British
artist Gary Hume, whose works Sprüth Magers will be
exhibiting for the first time beginning in early July.
Another highlight in this high-calibre exhibition
programme is swiftly approaching. Starting on the first
of May, Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers will be
exhibiting a series of works by Andreas Gursky. The
large format photographic works in the six part series
“Ocean I–VI ( 00 – 0 0)” give you the impression of
being real images of the ocean’s depths, although they