Berlin's War Legacy Transformed into Contemporary Art Spaces
Berlin's wartime architecture, particularly its bunkers, has been repurposed into contemporary art venues. The Boros Collection, a WWII bunker turned techno club in the 1990s, now houses works by Anne Imhof, Olafur Eliasson, Alicja Kwade, and Cyprien Gaillard. Nearby, the Feuerle Collection, designed by architect John Pawson, combines contemporary art with Khmer sculptures and Chinese imperial furniture in a meditative atmosphere. At Hamburger Bahnhof, Lithuanian artist Lina Lapelytė presents "We Make Years Out of Hours," an installation of thousands of wooden blocks that visitors rearrange, exploring community and reconstruction. The article notes a shift in Berlin's art scene from 2010s technological minimalism to raw concrete, industrial atmospheres, and military references, reflecting Europe's return to concepts like rearmament and deterrence. The city continues to transform collective anxieties and traumatic memories into visual language, projecting an aesthetic of instability's return.
Key facts
- Boros Collection is a WWII bunker turned contemporary art institution in Berlin
- Boros Collection features works by Anne Imhof, Olafur Eliasson, Alicja Kwade, and Cyprien Gaillard
- Feuerle Collection is also housed in a WWII bunker, designed by John Pawson
- Feuerle Collection blends contemporary art with Khmer sculptures and Chinese imperial furniture
- Lina Lapelytė's 'We Make Years Out of Hours' at Hamburger Bahnhof is an interactive installation with wooden blocks
- The exhibition 'We Make Years Out of Hours' runs until January 10, 2027
- Berlin's art scene is shifting from technological minimalism to brutalist and military aesthetics
- The article was written by Nicola Violano for Artribune
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Boros Collection
- Feuerle Collection
- Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
- Artribune
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Reinhardtstraße, 20
- Hallesches Ufer, 70
- Invalidenstraße, 50