Millennial Hallway
Paul Levack, John Neff, Jasia Rabiej, Michel Wagenschütz, Isabelle Frances McGuire, Zoë Field, Shelim Alvarado, Albin Bergström

The side exhibition “Millennial Hallway” presents current works by young and established artists Paul Levack, John Neff, Jasia Rabiej, Michel Wagenschütz, Isabelle Frances McGuire, Zoë Field, Shelim Alvarado and Albin Bergström, alongside the exhibition “JOHN S. BOSKOVICH I appreciate my uniqueness”.

floorplan

Michel Wagenschütz’s performance He’s Got It was performed in two versions, one happened during the opening of the exhibition and the other before the Screening of Sandra Bernhards film Without you I’m Nothing at Babylon and organized by Scherben as part of the Exhibition John S. Boskovich, I appreciate my uniqueness. He’s Got It is a performance that interrogates creation myths and narratives of genius and talent in the arts, with a focus on musical theatre and its affect economy. Drawing on the works of Stephen Sondheim and Howard Ashman, the performance delves into queer realities, the AIDS crisis, and living with HIV.

Without You I’m Nothing
starring Sandra Bernhard 
directed by John Boskovich

20.10.2024  18:15 Uhr 
at Babylon
Location: Kino am Rosa-Luxenburg-Platz
Tickets on: https://babylonberlin.eu

“Without You I’m Nothing” is an American musical comedy from 1990 starring comedian and singer Sandra Bernhard. The film is based on material from her award-winning one-woman show of the same name, which was produced by Terry Danuser. The film recreates moments from the stage show, with Bernhard often dressed in crazy costumes reminiscent of the character she is portraying, without actually “becoming” that character. The show is repeatedly interrupted by fake interviews in which people such as Bernhard’s supposed manager appear.

Sandra Bernhard made headlines not only as Madonna’s ex-lover. With her bizarre off-Broadway show Without you I’m nothing, she drew the ire of many a big, offended artist such as Diana Ross. She parodies the “decals of American pop culture”, delivers ludicrous monologues and sings Israeli folk songs. “An astonishing performance in this bizarrely funny and prickly satire of pop culture”

The Screening was supplemented and introduced with What It Takes, a Performance by Michel Wagenschütz.

JOHN S, BOSKOVICH: I Appreciate My Uniqueness
John Boskovich

The exhibition “JOHN S, BOSKOVICH: I Appreciate My Uniqueness” presents the work of the artist John Boskovich, who passed away in 2006, for the first time in Europe, placing it within a contemporary context. While Boskovich has gained recognition in recent years, particularly within younger circles of the American art world, his name remains relatively unknown in Europe. His work was rediscovered about 15 years after his death and has since been exhibited at key institutions such as O-Townhouse in Los Angeles, David Lewis Gallery in New York City, and Western Exhibitions in Chicago. Additionally, his works has been included in collections of internationally renowned museums such as MOCA and LACMA in Los Angeles, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Boskovich’s work lends a queer and personal aspect to the still highly influential art movement of conceptual art. This is particularly effective because his work, ahead of its time, was deeply integrated into the artist’s life. Over his twenty-year career, Boskovich critically engaged with popular and visual culture, religion, psychology, romance, and consumer behavior through the appropriation of images and ritual objects. In the mid-1980s, Boskovich emerged as one of the most prominent and provocative artists engaging with the legacy of conceptual art in Los Angeles. Together with other artists of his generation—such as Mike Kelley, Larry Johnson, 

Richard Hawkins, and Kathe Burkhart—he questioned mainstream culture and societal norms. Boskovich’s work, which was self-reflective and autobiographical, drew on his life as a gay man and radically blurred the boundaries between art and life.

Boskovich’s early work was characterized by an ironic and sharp combination of text and image, viewed from a queer perspective against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis. In the 1990s, his sculptures and installations deeply explored self-help culture and religion. In the late 1990s, Boskovich transformed his 1920s Los Angeles apartment into what he called the “Boskostudio,” which served as both his residence and a comprehensive total work of art until his death. The Boskostudio literally took over the entire apartment, incorporating walls, floors, and ceilings. Each room—from the living and dining rooms to the kitchen, breakfast nook, and hallway to the bedrooms—was theatrically transformed into a distinctive staging full of eerie references to consumerism. Boskovich himself described the Boskostudio as “a [Rainer Werner] Fassbinder set where no film was ever shot,” but where “drama thrives in abundance.” Boskovich’s cinematic work was also remarkable and ahead of its time—his extraordinary film North (2001), featuring artist and writer Gary Indiana reading from Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s novel of the same name, is a captivating portrait of its subject.

What social spaces are available to queer people? Boskovich’s artistic oeuvre also documents an increasing retreat into the private sphere. In his aesthetic negotiation of identity-forming practices and consumer culture, he shows how society, then as now, cannot guarantee safe living conditions for people outside the heteronormative, despite superficial efforts.

We would like to thank the Estate of John Boskovich, David Lewis Gallery, John Morace, Ann Goldstein, Schwules Museum Berlin, and Kunstfonds for their support.

exhibition text
notes on North
floorplan
Review (Mousse)
Review (taz)
Review (textezurkunst)

In connection to the exhibition Scherben hosted a conversation of Krista Montagna, the cousin of John Boskovich, and guard of the Estate John Boskovich who was involved in the production of his films and artist and curator John Neff, an early adopter and supporter of Boskovich’s work.

Krista Montagna and John Neff were in conversation about the life, work, and legacy of the late LA-based artist John Boskovich. Their discussion focused on the creation of Boskovich’s artwork-residence the Boskostudio and the challenges involved in preserving the project. 

John Boskovich: I Mean Every Word of It

11.10.2024  18:00 Uhr

In connection to Scherbens current exhibition “JOHN S. BOSKOVICH I appreciate my uniqueness” Scherben will host a conversation of Krista Montagna, the cousin of John Boskovich, and guard of the Estate John Boskovich who was involved in the production of his films and artist and curator John Neff, an early adopter and supporter of Boskovich’s work.

Krista Montagna and John Neff will be in conversation about the life, work, and legacy of the late LA-based artist John Boskovich. Their discussion will focus on the creation of Boskovich’s artwork-residence the Boskostudio and the challenges involved in preserving the project. 

Concerning Jealousy
Whitney Claflin, Pati Hill, Stella Sieber, Graham Hamilton, Wanwen Zhang and unknown artist

Curated by Charlotte Berg and Jackson Beyda

Accompanied by a publication with writings by Agnes Callard, Graham Hamilton, and Henrike Elisabeth Kohpeiß as well as an introduction by the curators.

Supported by the Stiftung Stark and the Checkpoint Charlie Stiftung.

Introduction to the publication Concerning Jealousy

In 1895, Edvard Munch produced the first painting in a sequence of works all titled “Jealousy.” The image depicts a romantic triad consisting of Dagny Juel, her husband, writer Stanisław Przybyszewski, and Munch himself. Munch can be seen in the background, in amorous embrace with Juel, while Przybyszewski occupies the foreground, rendered in green, his mask-like face looking towards the viewer in distorted angst. Over the proceeding forty years, Munch would produce twelve variations of that same painting. Although the series could be read as a continuation of Munch’s ongoing interest in allegory, the image reveals a psychic investment in the scene of infidelity which exceeds mere disinterested depiction. “Jealousy” would repeatedly stage the discord between Munch and his contemporary by carefully fixing the characters in their respective roles of seducer, betrayed, and object of desire. The conflict between Munch and Przybyszewski was thus mediated through the painterly presentation of Juel’s affection. When preparing “Jealousy” for an exhibition in Paris, Munch was forced to withdraw the work out of personal concern: 

“I had traveled to Paris to hold an exhibition there. Then they showed up, and I had to leave with my paintings because it was indeed the two of them that I had painted—him green and her naked. The exhibition in Paris came to nothing […] This woman-related affair ruined a lot for me.”(1)

Concerning Jealousy Intro
Concerning Jealousy Publication
Floor Plan
Review (Mousse)

AI Hallucinations

The exhibition aims to explore the nuanced landscape of AI hallucinations, which disrupt conventional understanding of language and perception. By contemplating large language models through the lens of Gershom Scholem’s insights on lamentation as a linguistic form, the endeavor ventures into uncharted territories of AI inquiry. The exhibition scrutinizes the intricate facets of AI hallucinations, arising from factors such as insufficient training data, flawed model as-sumptions, and inherent biases within the data. Scholem’s contemplation of lamentation as a mode of language accentuates the intricacy of the investigation.

Comprising three video works, the exhibition invites viewers to ponder the complexities of AI hallucinations:

In John Miller’s video “Deus ex Machina,” the mannequin embodies a transcendent form — an ideational automaton to which individuals aspire, emulate, envy, and often despise. Its immutable facade remains aloof to the mundane trivialities upon which it imposes itself. It exists and yet does not, haunting imaginative realms. While humanity bears responsibility for its creation, the mannequin, in turn, reshapes humanity. Has its essence truly been glimpsed? Now it is no more. In “The Oracle” by Lou Cantor, a holographic projection presents talking lips symbolizing a future intelligence ruling the world. Visitors confront a reality where human intelligence is eclipsed. The oracle’s text, an amalgamation of cultural references, resonates with humanity’s collective consciousness.

The exhibition culminates with works by the collective ROBOT (John Miller and Takuji Kogo), surrealistic musical compositions accompanied by on-screen text. Drawn from contemporary philosophers, these pieces challenge viewers’ preconcep-tions of language and context.

As observers navigate the enigmatic realms of linguistic exploration, where AI hallucinations blur the boundaries between reality and illusion, they are invi-ted to decipher the echoes of human thought within language predictions.

ACID HAUS
geetha thurairajah

“geetha thurairajah is a troll (compliment), an almost-Platonically-ideal manifestation of humanity’s latest iteration of the eternal trickster figure (this time, born in the aether of cyberspace). By troll, I am not referring here to its conception within the popular imaginary, a pissant shut-in, all Mountain Dew stains and rage. No, hers is a chimaeric figure whose composition is part critic, part comedian, part philosopher, and fully necessary.”

Exhibition Text by Leo Cocar
Room Plan

Nemo
Doug Ischar, Irina Lotarevich, Henrike Naumann, Julian Van Der Moere, and Max Eulitz & Sophia Eisenhut

Scherben (Berlin) at Good Weather (Chicago) is on view until May 18, 2024 with gallery hours on Saturdays from 1–4 p.m.

Exhibition Text
Review (Kennich)

Scherben is pleased to invite you to ACID HAUS an exhibition by geetha thurairajah. The exhibition will run from April 26 until June 2, 2024. Please join us for the opening on April 25 at 7 pm.

Scherben is pleased to invite you to the exhibition AI Hallucinations, with works by Lou Cantor, John Miller and Robot. The exhibition will run from March 15 until April 14, 2024. Please join us for the opening on March 14 at 7 pm.