From July 16 to 29, 2022, the exhibition "And now?" curated by Stephanie Gerner and Stephan Halter took place in the former cab customer center. The works presented by national and international artists* addressed the questions of where the spaces of possibility for the transformation of events and experience lie in an expanding "time of crisis" and how art and artists* react to the changes in the field of tension between internalization and external pressure. Visitors had the opportunity to view the multimedia installations, constructions, photographs, paintings and other works free of charge by appointment.

In Kooperation mit TAXI BERLIN, Taxi Museum Berlin und Transiträume e.V. fand vom 18. Juni bis 5. Juli 2022 in einer ehemaliger Taxi-Kundenzentrale nähe S-Bahnhof Ostkreuz die Ausstellung TAXI – DRIVE ME THROUGH THE NIGHT von Patricia Lambertus und Isabella Sedeka statt.

Patricia Lambertus schuf in dem 160 m² großen Pavillon eine bildgewaltige Rauminstallationen, die sich im Spannungsfeld zwischen Fiktion und Realität, zwischen Schönheit und Zerstörung bewegte. Ihr Forschungsfeld ist "die Faszination der Gewalt" und "die Lust an der Macht" in ihren medialen und alltäglichen Erscheinungsformen. Innerhalb des Bildraumes gibt es verschiedene Schichten von Bildern. Es sind Aneignungen aus der Kunstgeschichte, aus den Medien, Fundstücke aus dem Netz, aber auch eigene Bilder, die während mehrerer Forschungsaufenthalte entstanden sind. Für ihre Arbeit ist es besonders wichtig, historisch-gesellschaftliche Ereignisse und deren Kontexte sowie deren Relevanz und Resonanz in der Gegenwart aufzuspüren und bildnerisch umzusetzen. Ihr Interesse gilt dabei den Brüchen, Rissen und Schnittstellen. Die Installationen werden immer ortsspezifisch angepasst. Sie nehmen den Ort als historischen, medialen, gesamtgesellschaftlichen und architektonischen Ort reflexiv auf und reflektieren ihn. Patricia Lambertus durchbricht die scheinbare Realität mit den Mitteln der Collage / Décollage. Die Trompe-l`oéil-Effekte werden dem Betrachter offen vor Augen geführt, so dass er gleichzeitig illusioniert und desillusioniert wird. Der eigene Bezugsrahmen der immanenten Realität und die eigene Wahrnehmung treten in einen Dialog mit dem umgebenden Raum.

Isabella Sedeka ist eine in Berlin lebende Künstlerin, die in Mailand, Venedig, Hamburg und Berlin studiert hat. In der Ausstellung zeigte die Künstlerin eine Installation aus schwarzem Lametta, die eine Ode an die nächtliche Partyszene im Rudolfkiez in unmittelbarer Nachbarschaft der ehemaligen Taxi-Kundenzentrale darstellte.

Quelle: XPINKY BERLIN

Graffiti was his thing. As a kid in primary school. Inspired by master class students at the Dresden University of Fine Arts, his focus shifted from spray cans to brushes. Jonas Liesaus, born in 1999 in Potsdam, has been studying painting, his preferred subject, at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig for the past two years. Jonas celebrated his first individual exhibition in the same year (2018) entitled “Begegnung” (Encounter) in a former car rental workshop in Berlin-Kreuzberg. The encounter between visitors and his paintings was so successful that they sold out in next to no time. But then the first lockdown hit in spring 2020. The Academy closed down, and Jonas was thus out of a studio. Mother nature is thankfully open 24/7. Jonas observed what went on between the trees and grass and used summer to prepare for his intermediate diploma. Then came lockdown number 2 in autumn 2020. Jonas didn’t throw in the towel, or even his brush, but luckily discovered the next former garage in Berlin’s Ostkreuz Campus. He was so inspired by the architectural structures of the workshop that he used the involuntary quiet period to complete two large works in ink and collages. His work also reflects that tension that is in the air on account of the exceptional circumstances. Various visual elements within the composition rebel against each other to create a charged relationship between stability and instability. Jonas’ pictures were exhibited in the former garage at Ostkreuz Campus. Sadly, the public could not see them live and in colour because of corona and the SARS-CoV-2 infection protection ordinance.

Which is why Jonas’ Transit exhibition has been captured for posterity in 3D visualisation and can be visited online here.

Jonas Liesaus

Transit exhibition

Jonas Liesaus explains his relationship to art in a bit more detail here:

What makes good art in your opinion?

JL: A good picture for me has a strong, independent composition that first and foremost has to surprise me. I am attracted by works that treat colour in a special way as a material, and I find a picture of an object can be just as exciting as abstract painting.

Does art need a context?

JL: A work of art’s context is very important if you want to understand it. The works always have a relationship with the exhibition space. The effect the work will have in the space or room is ideally taken into account when developing the concept for a project.

The Parisian urban artist Catherine Lupis Thomas let herself be inspired by the raw appeal of the former garage at Ostkreuz Campus in Berlin-Friedrichshain. She was able to sense the life, hard work and everyday routine of the mechanics who tinkered around on the engines with their head under the bonnets. That typical smell of a garage, the oil stains on the floor and the sunlight filtering through the dirty windows accompanied Catherine while she applied pieces of old advertising posters and magazines to the walls of the garage. She built up surreal imaginary worlds layer for layer with her art.

For the past three years Catherine has been commuting between Paris and Berlin, but has increasingly lost her heart and soul to Berlin. She criss-crosses the city on foot or on her bicycle, constantly in search of unusual locations, observing and taking photos of things that affect her and playing with their urban surroundings.

Why does a Parisian artist like Catherine Lupis Thomas work and live in Berlin? What’s the city’s great appeal for her? She aired her secret to Eva Nieuweboer, who is responsible for art, culture and events at PANDION AG.

You have been commuting between Paris and Berlin for a number of years. What do these two capitals have in common in your opinion as an artist and resident? And how are they different?

CLT: Apart from the fact that they are both capitals and attract a lot of foreign tourists ... I think they are very different! Let me begin with Paris: definitely beautiful, but the Parisians make it feel unfriendly ... and I’m French. It’s very stressful and much too commercial ... shops, shops, shops! Berlin is beautiful too, but in a very different way ... you feel free in Berlin ... it’s as if there’s something in the air ... you can breathe freely. The contrasts between the past and the 21st century are very interesting and offer plenty of food for thought. What’s more, I’ve met a lot of artists from all over the world in Berlin, and some German artists too, of course. There’s a genuine connection between us ... good friendship and support! And the people who live in Berlin are really nice. Especially if you can talk to them in their language! Berlin and its contrasts have nurtured my creativity and my attitude as a human being! The city simply makes me happy.

You have already left your works in a number of buildings and have been inspired by these. We invited you to the former garage on Berlin’s Ostkreuz-Campus. Has this ever happened to you before or how do you normally get into a building?

CLT: To tell the truth, I hardly ever get invited to visit a location, Eva! You are only the second person to do so! It’s more of a real process for me. I let myself be attracted by a location ... I just walk or cycle around ... looking all over the place until I feel that I have been called by a location! It may sound strange, but that’s how it works!

You combine realism and surrealistic elements in your work. Tell us a little more about your technique. Why did you choose this particular way to work?

CLT: Realism, I have decided to capture it with my camera. Simply because I can’t draw or paint it. But I’m not a photographer, I don’t have any technical skills. All I have are my eyes and my inherent sense of capturing what inspires me. The collage brings a new dimension into the picture. That’s the surrealistic side, my way of processing and expressing my creativity and my delirium!

Collage really does seem to me to be the right language to express the way I see life and to escape reality. I discovered this technique through looking at works by Jacques Villegle, an “Affichiste”! His work gave me the strength to start being creative ... 21 years ago.

Thanks to the cooperation of the PANDION Berlin branch and the coordination office for rehearsal and performance spaces of the Berlin State Music Council, various amateur orchestras rehearsed in the former car dealership showroom in the fall of 2020 before it was demolished for the new development of the PANDION OFFICEHOME Ostkreuz Campus. As temperatures dropped, the rehearsals and performances of Berlin´s amateur choirs and orchestras had to be held indoors again. However, many of the previously used rooms are too small and were not compatible with Berlin´s hygiene framework due to the Corona Pandemic. However, in order to make rehearsals and performances possible in the coming months, the approximately 5,000-square-foot car sales room came in handy for interim use. Johannes Pflaum of the Vokalmatadoren was among the first to benefit from the new space near the Ostkreuz S-Bahn station and says: “The Vokalmatadore have only been able to rehearse outdoors since June. Following a long and unsuccessful search for rehearsal rooms of our own bat, we were delighted to finally get a positive response.” Hella Dunger-Löper, President of the Music Council: “More than a hundred ensembles and companies have got in touch since our first call a few days ago. But we have also received a number of suggestions for possible rehearsal rooms. I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who is supporting our work in this way. And please, don’t stop now!”.

In December 2019, “Dream World - The Experiment”, an immersive theatre project dedicated to lucid dreams, moved in where soon the Ostkreuz Campus with the commercial projects PANDION ZINC and PANDION POLLUX will arise. The art organisation “Dream World” invited nine of its members to try out a novel art form with the assistance of PANDION.

The English-language narration combined personal interactions with performers and art installations. “We are bringing an art form to Berlin,” said the initiators, “that is more fun than just going to a usual bar and is more personal than just sitting in a cinema. We want to bring people together and kindle a sense of play and wonder. The aim is to present new, immersive art in Berlin.

Because more and more people are looking for works of art that can be experienced individually and new forms of diversified art exhibitions. We want to create a transformative cocoon with our interactive art installation about dreams, something that allows just such a personal experience - spatially and with all of the senses. The remove from the work of art can be overcome depending on the level of curiosity - it’s not just something to look at.”

The interactive exhibition presented the works of 50 artists, including Karmanoia - the creator of the psychedelic “Labyrinth” in the Wilde Renate (2010-2014) and a pioneer of immersive art.