Daniela Brahm
exhibitions involved
2005
HIGHRISE
Brahm works simultaneously on various series of motifs reflecting her observations of society, which she combines into fictional stories. Her latest work, Highrise, confronts the hospital chapel dating from the 19th century with a parasite architecture. Rising upwards from flat elements on the floor it towers at 8.5 meters and docks onto one aisle of the gallery space. Brahm uses the scaffolding and the sheets of wood as a canvas for existing works or paints directly on the wood. Formally speaking, this architectural intervention derives from the urbanistic features of social housing, more particularly England´s tenement blocks, whose architecture is an expression of social utopia in the aftermath of the Second World War. (press release, abridged)
Brahm works simultaneously on various series of motifs reflecting her observations of society, which she combines into fictional stories. Her latest work, Highrise, confronts the hospital chapel dating from the 19th century with a parasite architecture. Rising upwards from flat elements on the floor it towers at 8.5 meters and docks onto one aisle of the gallery space. Brahm uses the scaffolding and the sheets of wood as a canvas for existing works or paints directly on the wood. Formally speaking, this architectural intervention derives from the urbanistic features of social housing, more particularly England´s tenement blocks, whose architecture is an expression of social utopia in the aftermath of the Second World War. (press release, abridged)
2014
OUR PLACE/ EXROTAPRINT BERLIN- URBAN ACTIVISM AS ARTISTIC PRACTICE (WITH LES SCHLIESSER)
ExRotaprint, an abandoned manufacturing site in the former working-class district Berlin Wedding, is initiated and driven by artists Les Schliesser and Daniela Brahm; a redevelopment project created from the viewpoint of art. As a social sculpture, it links the potential of its spectacular architecture with the local needs of a socially marginalized area, devoting aesthetic quality into socio-political activities. Over the past few years, the collaborative work on ExRotaprint has expanded into the artistic practice of Daniela Brahm and Les Schliesser. Within our exhibition, they trans- form the urban redevelopment project into a monumental installation, encompassing wall drawings, film and sculptural interventions.
ExRotaprint, an abandoned manufacturing site in the former working-class district Berlin Wedding, is initiated and driven by artists Les Schliesser and Daniela Brahm; a redevelopment project created from the viewpoint of art. As a social sculpture, it links the potential of its spectacular architecture with the local needs of a socially marginalized area, devoting aesthetic quality into socio-political activities. Over the past few years, the collaborative work on ExRotaprint has expanded into the artistic practice of Daniela Brahm and Les Schliesser. Within our exhibition, they trans- form the urban redevelopment project into a monumental installation, encompassing wall drawings, film and sculptural interventions.
2013
EREIGNISPANORAMA UND ANDERE VERWICKLUNGEN (WITH LES SCHLIESSER)
Mit der Ausstellung "Ereignispanorama und andere Verwicklungen" sickert die gemeinsame Arbeit an der Entwicklung des ExRotaprint Geländes in die künstlerische Arbeit von Daniela Brahm und Les Schliesser ein und fliest so den Ausgangslagen der Projektidee zu, die zunächst mehr künstlerische Intervention und Provokation als tatsächliche Gestaltung von Realität waren. In der Ausstellung, die Entstehungsgeschichte, Gegenwart und mögliche Zukunft des Ortes anreisst, verhandeln die beiden Künstler ihren Spagat zwischen Realität und Künstleridentität.
Mit der Ausstellung "Ereignispanorama und andere Verwicklungen" sickert die gemeinsame Arbeit an der Entwicklung des ExRotaprint Geländes in die künstlerische Arbeit von Daniela Brahm und Les Schliesser ein und fliest so den Ausgangslagen der Projektidee zu, die zunächst mehr künstlerische Intervention und Provokation als tatsächliche Gestaltung von Realität waren. In der Ausstellung, die Entstehungsgeschichte, Gegenwart und mögliche Zukunft des Ortes anreisst, verhandeln die beiden Künstler ihren Spagat zwischen Realität und Künstleridentität.
2007
RECYCLING UTOPIA II
At the 2007 Art Cologne, the work Recycling Utopia, bears traces of its earlier appearances in the urban space, which have been transferrd to the protective artistic surrounding. As a hybrid of painting, sculpture and installation art, Recycling Utopia poses a question on authorship, process and links between art and life.
At the 2007 Art Cologne, the work Recycling Utopia, bears traces of its earlier appearances in the urban space, which have been transferrd to the protective artistic surrounding. As a hybrid of painting, sculpture and installation art, Recycling Utopia poses a question on authorship, process and links between art and life.
2006
RECYCLING UTOPIA
The New Town and Recycling Utopia, have been realized for the exhibition “Ideal City / Invisible Cities”. The first part of the exhibition took place in Zamosc in eastern Poland in summer 2006. The New Town was located on a city´s market square for two months. Out of the component parts of this installation the shelter Recycling Utopia, has been built for the second part of the exhibition in Potsdam in autumn 2006.
The New Town and Recycling Utopia, have been realized for the exhibition “Ideal City / Invisible Cities”. The first part of the exhibition took place in Zamosc in eastern Poland in summer 2006. The New Town was located on a city´s market square for two months. Out of the component parts of this installation the shelter Recycling Utopia, has been built for the second part of the exhibition in Potsdam in autumn 2006.
2006
COMMUNITY
The installation entitled Community encroaches upon the space of the gallery with its wall of roughly sawn boards covered in splashes of white paint, sparking interest in things that have been sealed or closed off—just as fences round building sites do. In terms of its three-dimensionality, the composition as a whole aims towards an encounter with the Participants, the recurring actors in Brahms` oeuvre, producing a situation in which the juxtaposition of disparate personalities demands that more light be shed on notions of cultural and political identity. Community addresses ideas of individual freedom and foreignness in equal measure, examining artistic methods and their confrontation with the viewer. (press release, abridged).
The installation entitled Community encroaches upon the space of the gallery with its wall of roughly sawn boards covered in splashes of white paint, sparking interest in things that have been sealed or closed off—just as fences round building sites do. In terms of its three-dimensionality, the composition as a whole aims towards an encounter with the Participants, the recurring actors in Brahms` oeuvre, producing a situation in which the juxtaposition of disparate personalities demands that more light be shed on notions of cultural and political identity. Community addresses ideas of individual freedom and foreignness in equal measure, examining artistic methods and their confrontation with the viewer. (press release, abridged).
2002
HINTERLAND
Drawing inspiration by 20th-century architects´ predisposition to change the way people thought about the built environment, in one of Brahm´s latest installations Hinterland, something between a wooden barrier and a self-supporting painting acts as artificial fence to add an extra layer in the exhibition. Here, to explore the notion of feeling out of place, the artist introduces her idea of boundary, that the philosopher Martin Heidegger called not at which something stops but, as the Greeks recognized, that from which something begins.
Drawing inspiration by 20th-century architects´ predisposition to change the way people thought about the built environment, in one of Brahm´s latest installations Hinterland, something between a wooden barrier and a self-supporting painting acts as artificial fence to add an extra layer in the exhibition. Here, to explore the notion of feeling out of place, the artist introduces her idea of boundary, that the philosopher Martin Heidegger called not at which something stops but, as the Greeks recognized, that from which something begins.
2014
EINS UND EINS SIND EINS (WITH Les Schliesser)
The sound work eins und eins sind eins (one plus one equals one) reflects in an abstract way on the complexities behind the process of bringing a (utopian) realm of possibilities into actual being. The audio work consists of two contracts that form the legal basis of ExRotaprint, an industrial site that both artists transformed into an exemplary model of real estate development which is based on the common good and which they run today. For the sound work eins und eins sind eins, the artists asked the solicitor read out the articles of the partnership agreement of the non-profit GmbH ExRotaprint and the heritable building rights contract again while being recorded. Both contracts stipulate aims and parameters, scope and dimensions, obligations and rights of the project.
The sound work eins und eins sind eins (one plus one equals one) reflects in an abstract way on the complexities behind the process of bringing a (utopian) realm of possibilities into actual being. The audio work consists of two contracts that form the legal basis of ExRotaprint, an industrial site that both artists transformed into an exemplary model of real estate development which is based on the common good and which they run today. For the sound work eins und eins sind eins, the artists asked the solicitor read out the articles of the partnership agreement of the non-profit GmbH ExRotaprint and the heritable building rights contract again while being recorded. Both contracts stipulate aims and parameters, scope and dimensions, obligations and rights of the project.
2006
PROCLAMATION WALL
Proclamation Wall is literally a series of "proclamations" intruding into the museum´s space with phrases, such as "Dare to Enter", "Participation", "No Escape", or simply "Yes"..., texts presented in various fonts. Their placement give the Museo Tamayo the appearance of a construction site, with these large posters establishing a formal analogy with one´s visual or spatial experiences in public space, as these works were hung on a rough wall that resembled a temporary street barricade. The artist presents these texts in English, the commonly accepted universal language nowadays, and ties this use to a historical architectural tradition that proclaimed a universal language.
Proclamation Wall is literally a series of "proclamations" intruding into the museum´s space with phrases, such as "Dare to Enter", "Participation", "No Escape", or simply "Yes"..., texts presented in various fonts. Their placement give the Museo Tamayo the appearance of a construction site, with these large posters establishing a formal analogy with one´s visual or spatial experiences in public space, as these works were hung on a rough wall that resembled a temporary street barricade. The artist presents these texts in English, the commonly accepted universal language nowadays, and ties this use to a historical architectural tradition that proclaimed a universal language.
2009
THE BIG ARGUMENT
The Big Argument is a project accompanying the program of "Warsaw Under Construction". Using a billboard cluster on the seats of honor in front of the Palace of Culture in Warsaw, the artist underlines the impetuous and complex character of conflicts evoked by attempts to manage and conquer public space by groups of conflicting interests. At the same time, Brahm defines the city as "the biggest exhibition in the world", treating art as a magnifying glass which lets us see the pending urban, political, and social processes.
The Big Argument is a project accompanying the program of "Warsaw Under Construction". Using a billboard cluster on the seats of honor in front of the Palace of Culture in Warsaw, the artist underlines the impetuous and complex character of conflicts evoked by attempts to manage and conquer public space by groups of conflicting interests. At the same time, Brahm defines the city as "the biggest exhibition in the world", treating art as a magnifying glass which lets us see the pending urban, political, and social processes.
2006
THE NEWTOWN
In Zamosc and Potsdam Daniela Brahm addresses the construction of ideal cities directly, by declaring a plot of already built-on land a building site. Staying within the formal language of post-war modernity, and relating in terms of content to a civic model of participation, she rattles the intactness of the ideal city and proclaims the possibility of change. Thus she points the way to an as yet invisible city, arising from the ideas of modernity, which would not however here represent salvation, but destruction. Daniela Brahm has thought the present situation through to its logical conclusion; up to and including the scrutiny of today´s attitudes to the idea of an ideal city.
In Zamosc and Potsdam Daniela Brahm addresses the construction of ideal cities directly, by declaring a plot of already built-on land a building site. Staying within the formal language of post-war modernity, and relating in terms of content to a civic model of participation, she rattles the intactness of the ideal city and proclaims the possibility of change. Thus she points the way to an as yet invisible city, arising from the ideas of modernity, which would not however here represent salvation, but destruction. Daniela Brahm has thought the present situation through to its logical conclusion; up to and including the scrutiny of today´s attitudes to the idea of an ideal city.
daniela brahm / biography
1966
*düsseldorf / de
1988
studies hochschule der künste, berlin
1991
erasmus-stipendium, beaux arts marseilles / fr
1993
diploma
1994
master class (with valile export)
1999
co-founder of soup (collective studio of architects, designers, visual artists)
2003
residency at delfina studios london / uk (financed by the berlin senat)
2004
conception for a redevelopment of the former rotaprint manufacturing plant by the tenants already on site (with les schliesser)
2005
grant from the north rhine-westphalian art foundation co-founder of exrotaprint www.exrotaprint.de (socio-political initiative on the former rotaprint factory site)
2007
exrotaprint planning team (with artist les schliesser, and architects oliver clemens and bernhard hummel)
foundation of the exrotaprint gmbh (the non-profit ltd.) by on-site tenants; purchase of the premises; signing of a 99-year heritable building right
2010
gradual renovation of the premises which is a registered historic landmark
2012
member of "initiative stadt neudenken" (civic initiative to change real estate politics in berlin)
2016
exrotaprint was awarded the julius berger prize for urban development
2018
gastprofessur an der weißensee kunshochschule berlin, fachbereich raumstrategien / spacial strategies
2019
exrotaprint was awarded the ferdinant-von-quast-medaille for the preservation of the architectural monument
einzelausstellungen | solo shows
2018
die tour als skulptur: property matters, zentrum für kunst und öffentlichen raum / zkr berlin, de
2009
the big argument, museum of modern art in warsaw, site-specific installation in front of the palace of culture, satelite of warsaw under construction, pl
my city, galerie mirko mayer, köln / de
2007
art is so small / consider the opposite, art forum berlin, de open space, art cologne, de
2006
community, galerie mirko mayer köln, de
2005
highrise, künstlerhaus bethanien berlin, de
london series (modern (no bricks)), galerie barbara thumm berlin, de
2002
relocation container, art position, art basel / miami beach, miami, usa
hinterland, galerie mirko mayer, köln, de
participation city, galerie barbara thumm, berlin, de
2001
nimby - not in my backyard, galerie mirko mayer, köln, de
2000
our place, galerie barbara thumm, berlin, de
1996
die kommunikation auf der erde ist erstaunlich gut, exhibtion in two shipping containers, lacated at unter den linden / friedrichstraße, berlin, de
gruppenausstellungen | group shows
2020
uferhallen manifest, eine ausstellung auf dem gelände der uferhallen berlin/wedding, de
2019
exrotaprint goes statistics, haus der statistik, berlin, de
2017
warsaw under construction #9, museum of modern art in warsaw, pl
fokus papier, raumdenken - denkräume, kunstmuseum basel, ch
2016
community.based an archive of berlin projects, decad project space, berlin, de
2015
die tour als skulptur: satteldach city dinslaken, geführte tagestouren im rahmen von "reisen im kreis", urbane künste ruhr, de
2014
our place / exrotaprint berlin - urban activism as artistic practice (with les schliesser), 0047 oslo, nor hlysnan: the notion and politics of listening (with les schliesser), casino luxembourg, lux
ästhetik des widerstands (with les schliesser), ig bildende kunst wien, at and galerie im turm berlin, de
2013
ich versteh´ nur nordbahnhof! (with les schliesser), künstlerhaus stuttgart, de
ereignispanorama und andere verwicklungen (with les schliesser), kunstverein nürtingen, de
verhandlungssache (with les schliesser), galerie mirko mayer, köln, de
2012
kirstenpläne, project space exrotaprint, berlin
2011
other possible worlds, neue gesellschaft für bildende kunst, berlin, de
2010
linie - fläche - raum: bildarchitekturen, plan 10, cologne, forum aktueller architektur, kunsthaus lempertz, köln, de
mapping my mind, galerie mirko mayer köln / de
2009
warsaw under construction, museum of modern art in warsaw pl
building berlin, kitchener-waterloo art gallery, can
2008
on the edge of painting: sublime-construction-reality, mirko mayer gallery, cologne, de
2007
art is so small / consider the opposite, art forum berlin, de
2006
ideal city / invisible cities, potsdam, de
ideal city / invisible cities, zamosc pl
asterism. artists living in berlin, museo tamayo mexico d.f.
painting as presence, künstlerhaus bethanien berlin, de
2004
eastinternational 04, norwich school of art & design / uk
2003
brand the image, mirko mayer gallery, cologne
2002
bilder aus berlin, christopher grimes gallery, santa monica, usa
2000
malkunst, fondazione mudima, milano, it