Berlin's Art Scene Stagnates Amid Gallery Closures and Summer Pause

Berlin's art scene has grown increasingly sleepy over the past eight years, with galleries and institutions showing little dynamism compared to cities like London. The Art Berlin fair was canceled in 2019, and collectors with private museums are leaving, citing a lack of appreciation. Currently, most galleries are closed for the annual summer pause, with only a few, such as Galerie König, remaining open. Johann König has emerged as a notable exception, publishing an autobiography titled 'Blind Gallerist', hosting his own art fair in the converted Brutalist church St Agnes, and actively promoting his artists on social media. He also runs an in-house magazine called KÖNIG. Many Berlin galleries continue to cycle through the same artists from the 1990s, such as those at neugerriemschneider, leading to artistic stasis. The author finds excitement by spending time away from the city in a GDR-era dacha, drawing parallels to E.B. White's move from Manhattan to a farm in Maine in the 1930s. There is concern that some galleries may never reopen post-pandemic, likening Berlin's artworld to Schrödinger's cat. The current closures, while anxiety-inducing, offer a semblance of normalcy amid COVID-19 restrictions.