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until 03.05 | #5022ARTatBerlin | ARTES Berlin shows from Friday, 1. May 2026, the exhibition TERRAIN by the artist Christian Thoelke.
In his work, Thoelke combines architectural motifs of the futuristic GDR modernism, such as the so-called VT folding roof, with naturalistic elements like birch trees or sumacs. Both are considered pioneer plants, characterized by their resilience and undemanding nature. The juxtaposition of standardized architecture and resistant vegetation creates pictorial spaces in which structure and growth, planning and appropriation overlap.
The standardization of East German building forms led to an iconic visual language that has become deeply ingrained in the collective memory. Thoelke’s works take up these visual imprints and translate them into painterly spaces of memory. They address a past shaped by utopian designs as well as by ruptures and transformations, while simultaneously establishing connections to the present.
As Kito Nedo puts it: “The memories that Thoelke’s paintings explore are evidently memories of everyday life in actually existing socialism, memories of a spectacularly failed utopia, memories of a radical experience of transformation.”
Technically, Thoelke combines classical and contemporary techniques: Multiple layers of primed canvas meet a glazing technique and an aesthetic shaped by urban visual culture. His compositions are reminiscent of stage sets where different layers overlap, opening up a variety of interpretations.
Thoelke’s works have garnered international attention in both private collections and institutional contexts.
Opening: Friday, 1. May 2026 6 – 9 pm
Exhibition dates: Friday, 1. May 2026 until Sunday, 3. May 2026
Image caption: Christian Thoelke, „Wall”, 250x360cm, 2 Teile, Öl auf Leinwand, 2021
Exhibition Christian Thoelke – ARTES Berlin | Contemporary art Berlin – Contemporary Art | Exhibitions Galerien Berlin | ART at Berlin
