Page 56 - "he 2020 Guggenheim issue of World of Art Contemporary Art Magazine

11TH BERLIN BIENNALE C/O
DA ADGALERIE

Façade of the daadgalerie (Oranienstraße in Berlin Kreuzberg) during the exhibition by Minerva Cuevas,
No Room To Play, 12.4.–9.6.2019, Photo: Thomas Bruns

In 1965, with the help of the former West Berlin Senate, the DAAD
[German Academic Exchange Service] took over the “artists-
in-residence program” initiated two years earlier by the Ford
Foundation. Under the new title “Berliner Künstlerprogramm des
DAAD” [DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program], it became a renowned
support program for international artists, writers, and musicians,
and later also for filmmakers. In 1978, the daadgalerie opened as a
new exhibition venue in former West Berlin.
The location was intended to bring together the diverse activities of
the artists’ program and offer international guests a platform within
the West German cultural scene. Since 2017, the daadgalerie has
been located at Oranienstraße 161 in Kreuzberg in “Haus Stiller.”

The residential and commercial building was designed in 1910 by
the Jewish-Hungarian architect Oskar Kaufmann. Interdisciplinary
exhibitions and events by current and former guests of the program
are shown on two floors. A dialogue with the local art scene and
other institutions in the city is the primary focus.

ANDRÉS FERNÁNDEZ

Andrés Fernández , Identificación de personas perdidas [Lost persons identification], 2012
Pen and pencil on paper, double-sided. Photo: Silke Briel

Although the cartographies of Andrés Fernández might lead
nowhere, they take us into the very mystery of existence, the time
and place before birth. The atlases, perspective drawings, and
lists of words that make up his body of work comprise a fabulous
geography, the unexpected result of some Big Bang. Images of
distant islands like Sumatra, personal scenarios, and experiences
are fused into a secret mythology that takes us through the birth
canal itself, through the mysterious transit zone of Cundinamarca.
Some of the works seem to be underlined by patterns that recall
the structures of urban planning, a city’s topography, or a traffic
system, but Fernández’ drawings ultimately follow only the
zigzagging movements of an inner logic and a dogged curiosity.
His compositions could be described as intimate maps for self-
preservation. Some are shortcuts and illustrations taken from
Fernández’ journeys through Madrid, taking the form of virtual
tours, when leaving the house was not an option. As exuberant
as they are practical, his travel guides feature neither monuments
nor tourist attractions, although they may very well contain secrets
for alleviating excess suffering or avoiding a fall into the abyss of
meaning. The journey home is always bordered by psychic incidents
and discomfort. Andrés Fernández is member of Debajo del
Sombrero, a Spanish artists platform that proposes new ... (excerpt)

56 WORLD of ART