Umut Azad Akkel's 'Holding My Drink in the Corner' at Haus am Lützowplatz

Umut Azad Akkel's exhibition 'Holding My Drink in the Corner' at Haus am Lützowplatz in Berlin runs from June 13 to August 16, 2026, curated by Ozan Ünlükoç. The show explores play as a concept that blurs boundaries between familiarity and distance, inclusion and exclusion, and intentionality and disorder. Key works include 'Child's Play' (2024), a turquoise triangle and rusted cube that evoke children's building blocks; 'Grey Privacy Series,' photographic prints of empty bathroom stalls that provoke mental projection; 'Untitled Self Portrait 1,' a glass vase with an engraved crack presented as a valuable artifact; 'Wet Games' (2024) and its collages (2026) that juxtapose blueprints with subjective traces; and a videowork 'Tightrope Walker / Balance Game' where the artist carries beer glasses on a balance beam, with glasses repeatedly falling and breaking. The exhibition also features a labyrinthine 'Hide and Seek' installation entered through a model of a snake gate, referencing a Berlin club. Throughout, Akkel redefines functionality, presenting objects and spaces that appear functional but lead nowhere, exposing meaning as meaningless. The show is rooted in Berlin references, including a flyer inspired by a VBB ticket.