Art Berlin Contemporary

Art Berlin Contemporary (abc) eschewed the curated booths common to most art fairs—instead, presentations by 111 galleries spread across three halls without any walls to contain them. Stand-outs at the highly successful and well-attended 7th edition of abc included: Daniel Steegmann Mangrané’s immersive aluminum chain sculpture presented by Esther Schipper; Douglas Coupland’s installation of painted globes entitled Optimism vs. Pessimism, which the artist showed with Daniel Faria Gallery; Beijing-based artist Guan Xiao’s electrifying three-channel video installation Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler and Antenna Space’s shared booth drew droves of onlookers who often stayed for multiple rotations of the video loop; and at Johann König, Camille Henrot presented her video Coupe / Decalé alongside Desktop Series, a series of small bronze sculptures that reflect on the tension between immateriality and the universal creative space provided by the computer desktop.

Daniel Steegmann Mangrané at Art Berlin Contemporary (abc), Berlin, 2014. Photo by Marco Funke.

Douglas Coupland at Art Berlin Contemporary (abc), Berlin, 2014. Image courtesy of Art Berlin Contemporary (abc).

(Left) Guan Xiao, One to Another, 2014, Colored metal, 120 x 150 x 50 cm. (Right) Guan Xiao, Action, 2014, HD video on three monitors, 10:00 minutes. Both at Art Berlin Contemporary (abc), Berlin, 2014. Image courtesy of Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin.

Opening for Art Berlin Contemporary (abc), Berlin, 2014. Photo by Marco Funke.