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until 19.12. | #4887ARTatBerlin | Galerie alexander levy currently shows the exhibition Frank by the artist Fabian Knecht.
Frank (2025) fills the exhibition space with a crackling and popping sound that is difficult to locate. The source of the sound—hidden behind a wall—comes from bubbles bursting in joint fluid. The work reveals a functional connection that is relevant to all of the exhibits: the physically demanding activity of art handling, which is a prerequisite for art to be receivable at all. For this work, Fabian Knecht regularly visits his chiropractor Frank, who also provides the sound basis for the work.
Fabian Knecht, “Lachen ist verdächtig (Ist Fabian sich sicher, dass die Stoffe bunt sind?)”, 2025, Transport trolley, textile, 158 x 132,5 x 100 cm, courtesy of the artist and alexander levy, Berlin. Photo Fabian Knecht
Two other works— Laughter is Suspicious (Is Fabian Sure the Fabrics Are Colorful?)) (2025) and Siegfried (2025)—were created by other artists and brought to the art space by Knecht. He has been supporting civil resistance in Ukraine in this way since 2022. The shapeless masses of textiles are camouflage nets that were knitted by the civilian population at the beginning of the war. Their significance lies less in their military usefulness than in their community-building function. By exchanging them for military nets, Knecht contributes to the protection of critical infrastructure.
When acute back pain occurs during the long journeys—nineteen trips and around 63,000 kilometers since 2022—a wooden ball seat cushion provides relief. Knecht’s worn-out copy now hangs on the gallery wall and refers in “Siegfried” to both vulnerability and the hope for victory and peace.
The video work Der Weg des größten Widerstandes (The Path of Greatest Resistance, since 2022) documents Knecht’s journeys through Ukraine with cell phone recordings. The ongoing project shows a country in the midst of everyday war: graves, destroyed houses, flowers, animals, and everyday scenes all at once.
Fabian Knecht, “Siegfried”, 2025, Wooden beads, nail 140 x 45 x 6,5 cm, courtesy of the artist and alexander levy, Berlin. Photo Fabian Knecht
In Frank, Knecht reveals more openly than before the infrastructure that enables his artistic and solidarity work: the transport of the nets and the physical labor involved. What remains invisible is the financial support generated by the sale of the works. Through his actions in the art system, he achieves concrete social effects and strengthens Ukrainian resistance. In this way, he uses the field of art as a flexible material context for humanitarian redistribution and at the same time draws attention to the importance of infrastructure for lives threatened by Putin’s violence. As in earlier works, such as the documentation of the destroyed Desna Bridge (2022), he also points out here that the shipment of defense material in Ukraine has long been an everyday reality.
Exhibition dates: Friday, 14. November – Friday, 19. December 2025
Titel image caption: Fabian Knecht, “Frank”, 2025, Audio on Dubplate, 6.54 min, Edition of 5 + 2 A.P., courtesy of the artist and alexander levy, Berlin. Photo Fabian Knecht
Exhibition Fabian Knecht– Galerie alexander levy | Contemporary Art – Zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin – Exhibitions Berlin Galleries – ART at Berlin
