A look behind the scenes at the work connecting Circle Culture’s Berlin and Hamburg locations. From exhibition planning and inventory to transports, private viewings and upcoming projects.
What actually happens in a gallery between exhibitions?
From the outside, August can look like a break in the art world and across Europe in general. The “summer hole,” as this time is often referred to, is ever present. Many people leave the cities for the beaches and the next opening is still a few weeks away.
The art world, however, is always on. For us, conversations happen across time zones, exhibitions in Berlin and Hamburg develop in parallel and the daily work of the gallery continues across both cities.
Summer nevertheless offers a valuable reset: time to gather new energy and inspiration and to bring structure to the months ahead. We take stock of the inventory, rehang and maintain our spaces and begin developing upcoming exhibitions through conversations, studio visits and first selections.
As these plans take shape, artworks start to move. Some return from exhibitions, while others leave for collectors, artists or new presentations. Each is checked, documented and carefully prepared for its next destination. A rarely visible part of gallery work that requires experience and close attention to the materials and needs of each work.n
Over the past weeks, much of this work has taken place between Berlin and Hamburg. Both cities have their own spaces and exhibitions, but form part of the same gallery programme and overall planning. The team is in daily exchange, projects are developed together and artworks move between the two locations as the programme evolves.
This connection also creates greater flexibility for collectors. The current location of a work does not necessarily determine where it can be seen. If someone in Berlin is interested in a work held in Hamburg, or the other way around, we can often bring it to the respective city and coordinate a private viewing.
In Berlin, our current Summer Showroom keeps the gallery and its artists accessible throughout August. The presentation brings together selected positions from our programme and offers the opportunity to spend time with the works during a private appointment. The complete selection can also be explored online through Artsy.
One of our most recent transports brought works by Enrich.R from Berlin to Hamburg, where a selection has now arrived at our partners at THE EMBASSIES.
Combining residences with a private members’ club, workspaces and a café, THE EMBASSIES places art within an environment in which people live, meet and spend time.
Part of a young generation of Spanish abstract painters, Enrich.R builds his atmospheric works through a gradual process of layering, removing and rebuilding. Patina, worn surfaces and traces of earlier decisions remain visible, allowing time and imperfection to become part of the finished painting.
In the beginning of October, we will present Enrich.R in Hamburg for the first time as part of an upcoming exhibition. Further details will follow in the coming weeks.
If you are based in Berlin or Hamburg and would like to see a particular work, please feel free to contact us. We are happy to discuss the possibilities and coordinate a viewing in the most suitable location.