Marc Brandenburg's '20th Century Debris' at Berlinische Galerie

The Berlinische Galerie presents '20th Century Debris,' a survey of Marc Brandenburg's drawings from the 1990s to the present. The artist, born in West Berlin in 1965, is known for meticulous pencil works on paper that invert light and dark, viewed under blacklight to dissolve forms into ghostly afterimages. The exhibition includes early fragmented portraits and interiors, the 'Bilderbuch' series, large-scale panoramas, and for the first time, films that resemble moving drawings. Brandenburg's motifs—clothing, consumer objects, landscapes, masks—draw from everyday life and subculture, yet feel hollowed out, like debris from a pre-digital era. The show also features temporary tattoos that return his drawn motifs to the body. Brandenburg, who works without a studio or assistants, uses only paper, Faber Castell pencils (HB, HH, 5B), and a smartphone for filming. The exhibition title references the 20th century, though most works date from the 21st, evoking a romantic fascination with dissolution, fragmentation, and invisibility.