Bernar Venet's 60-Year Retrospective at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport

A major retrospective of French artist Bernar Venet (born 1941) opened at the Kunsthalle Berlin in the disused Tempelhof Airport, running until May 30, 2022. Curated by Walter Smerling, the exhibition spans 60 years of Venet's work, from his early Goudron paintings (1961) to recent pieces, including NFT works. Over 150 works from the artist and the Venet Foundation in Le Muy are displayed across Hangars 2 and 3, arranged chronologically and thematically based on a physical model built by Venet. The venue was chosen as a symbol of using art against militarism. The show highlights Venet's conceptual period (1966-1970) in the US, his use of mathematics and entropy, and his performances like Domino Effondrement (first performed in 2021 at the Venet Foundation). A live performance, Pictorial Memory of Reinforcement and Gesture, uses steel profiles to apply paint on walls. An NFT room features digital works and financial documents from 1969, when Venet performed at the New York Stock Exchange. The retrospective also honors Venet's long friendship with Paul Wember, director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld, who gave him his first solo show in 1970.