Sven Johne | Eternal 20th Century | KLEMM’S | 31.10.2025-17.01.2026

In Eternal 20th Century, Johne retraces the landscapes of history through the body, pointing at the threshold of presence and erasure. In times of war, the exhibition speculates on a century of conflict that refuses to end, insisting that history, under the crushing weight of its repetition, remains inscribed in the body and psyche like an after-image—fragile, exposed, yet enduring. In the exhibition, Johne opens up space for associations that are crucial to the realization of its claim: to create metaphors of being and to conceive alternative myths in times when violence and its effects permeate every aspect of public and private life.

“The war-torn, gruesome 20th century began on June 28, 1914, at the Latin Bridge in Sarajevo, and we thought it had ended on November 9, 1989, at the Böse Bridge in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. We thought the end of history had been reached, but now we see that the 20th century never ended. I spent a summer driving along the Oder and Neisse rivers, through the destroyed inner cities of the last war. These are still traumatized places: Forst, Küstrin, Gartz, and Schwedt. The bridges there are still destroyed; no one has ever rebuilt them, as if it were pointless anyway.”

Sven Johne on “Eternal 20th Century”, 2025

Opening: Friday, 31. October 2025, 7-9 pm.