Gallery Weekend Berlin 2025: Galleries Embrace Risk Amid Market Contraction
During the 21st Gallery Weekend Berlin, 52 galleries opened their doors, highlighting a shift among art dealers who are now prioritizing originality and uniqueness instead of traditional sales methods, as the contemporary art scene experiences its third year of downturn. While some well-known shows persisted, like Thomas Struth's photographs at Max Hetzler and the Bechers' works at Konrad Fischer, many galleries took daring steps. BQ featured the lesser-known St Petersburg performance group The Brotherhood of New Blockheads, while Mountains presented a mini-retrospective of David Medalla's bubble machines. Other highlights included Galerie Judin’s exhibition of Camille Bombois alongside modern artists and Sky Hopinka’s video reflecting on Ho Chunk heritage, signaling that tough times might spark creative approaches in programming.
Key facts
- Gallery Weekend Berlin 2025 was the 21st edition.
- 52 galleries participated in synchronized openings.
- The contemporary art market is in its third year of contraction.
- Max Hetzler showed Thomas Struth's photos of jungles and laboratories.
- Konrad Fischer exhibited Bernd and Hilla Becher's typological photographs.
- Buchholz presented Anne Imhof paintings.
- Capitain Petzel showcased Monica Bonvicini's tubular minimalist structures.
- Buchmann displayed Tony Cragg sculptures.
- BQ featured The Brotherhood of New Blockheads, a 1990s St Petersburg performance group.
- Mountains held a David Medalla retrospective covering his 1960s bubble machines to neons and paintings.
- Galerie Judin showed Camille Bombois alongside Louis Fratino, Ryan Mosley, and Esther Pearl Watson.
- Neu presented SoiL Thornton's show with thousands of pompoms and a video about losing art to storage costs.
- Nagel Draxler exhibited Nadya Tolokonnikova with a replica prison cell and works referencing Putin and Molotov cocktails.
- Tanya Leighton showed Sky Hopinka's video 'He Who Wears Faces on His Ears' about the Ho Chunk and a poem by Yves Bonnefoy.
- Esther Schipper presented Sun Yitian's paintings blending kitsch Chinese objects and surreal scenes.
- Sun Yitian's show drew long queues up several flights of stairs.
Entities
Artists
- Thomas Struth
- Bernd Becher
- Hilla Becher
- Anne Imhof
- Monica Bonvicini
- Tony Cragg
- Daniel Baumann
- The Brotherhood of New Blockheads
- David Medalla
- Camille Bombois
- Louis Fratino
- Ryan Mosley
- Esther Pearl Watson
- SoiL Thornton
- Nadya Tolokonnikova
- Pussy Riot
- Sky Hopinka
- Yves Bonnefoy
- Sun Yitian
Institutions
- Max Hetzler
- Konrad Fischer Galerie
- Buchholz
- Capitain Petzel
- Buchmann Galerie
- BQ
- Mountains
- Galerie Judin
- Neu
- Nagel Draxler
- Tanya Leighton
- Esther Schipper
- Haus der Kunst
- DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program
- ArtReview
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- St Petersburg
- Russia
- American Midwest
- United States
- Munich
- China