As usual The Eyes offers the exploration of photography places of a European city. “Inside Berlin” was made by David Kregenov.
König Bookstore Burgstraße
If you are interested in art books, it is nearly impossible to escape the omnipresence of Walther König, who over the last three decades has managed to expand his chain of book concession throughout virtually all art institutions in town. To balance out these rather crammed and narrow museum shops, König decided to establish his own store, at the heart of the city’s historic centre, next to the Museumsinsel, in an impressive, bright space, with a vast selection of art books. Run by the well-mannered and knowledgeable Christian Posthofen and his multilingual team, this shop has quickly become a well-known venue, also hosting symposiums, readings and signature events.
Burgstraße 27, 10178 Berlin
C/O Berlin
Few art institutions or galleries in the world have such a close history with their premises as the internationally renowned C/O gallery with the ancient Postfuhramt building. When the gallery was forced to abandon its premises in late 2012, it took the risk of leaving its familiar stomping ground in the hip eastern gallery district of Mitte to turn to Charlottenburg, the bourgeois centre of former West Berlin. What is more, it traded a charming building from the 1880s for the Amerika Haus, an unremarkable structure erected in 1957. There is no doubt that it will continue to present outstanding photo exhibitions in the future, despite the fact that, due to architectural problems, it had to redesign the building to function as a gallery and the opening date has already been delayed twice. It is now set to open in spring 2015.
Hardenbergstraße. 22-24, 10623 Berlin
Bauhaus Archiv
Originally intended by Walter Gropius to be built in Darmstadt, the founding city of the Bauhaus Archiv, the original plans had to be completely changed and adapted to the available site. Most visitors do not notice the long and winding access path to the museum, which ignores all basic principles of the Bauhaus. This is largely due to the fact that the building had to be constructed the other way round to the original plans. The surprisingly small interior, which makes the ongoing calls for an extension building quickly comprehensible, can only show a small fraction of the enormous collection, which covers all domains of the creative output of the Bauhaus. Besides the permanent collection, there are also temporary exhibitions, often focusing on architectural photography.
Klingelhöferstraße 14, 10785 Berlin
Kicken Berlin
When Rudolf Kicken opened his first gallery in 1974, devoted to photography only, he was, along with Ann and Jürgen Wilde, one of the very few pioneers who fought to establish this medium as a serious and independent form of art. Having moved to Berlin in 1979, the gallery found its permanent home right in the heart of Berlin’s gallery quarter in Mitte. The stunningly designed space also includes a private viewing room in which one can retreat with a selected work. The gallery’s programme varies from pioneering work of the 19th century and canonical classics from the Bauhaus era, to American masters of colour photography and other chosen contemporaries.
Linienstraße 161a, 10115 Berlin
Camerawork
When you enter the passageway of the classicist residential building on Kantstraße, all the hustle and bustle of the busy shopping street will instantly be forgotten. Located in an ancient coach house in a gravelled back courtyard lined with chestnut trees, this place rarely leaves its visitors unimpressed. This enchanted venue houses, according to the gallery’s own judgement, one of the world’s largest collection of photos and photobooks. Hardly surprising when you consider the fact that this is a listed corporation with a capital of more than €180 million – which does not take away in the least from the charm of the premises and the quality of the exhibited works.
Kantstraße 149, 10623 Berlin
Extrait du Berlin City Guide de David Kregenov
