CHIMERA

“NO PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED FROM THE SAME LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS

THAT CREATED IT” - Albert Einstein -

From October 03 - October 12, 2019 the internationally working German artist SEMRA SEVIN presents her group exhibition CHIMERA in the project space of the Kunstquartier Bethanien under the patronage of the Berlin non-profit ENTER ART FOUNDATION. ENTER ART is a foundation supporting artists internationally.

CHIMERA is the concept for an investigative interdisciplinary group exhibition consisting of works of art by German and international contemporary artists living in Berlin. The exhibition focuses on the uniquely diverse, cosmopolitan and cosmopolitan art scene that emerged in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The group exhibition examines how the German reunification made Berlin one of the most important capitals for artists in Europe and thus promoted intercultural dialogue.

In the early 1990s, multicultural Berlin became a melting pot for international artists and creatives, especially in neighborhoods that were already multicultural and where new living space became available. In combination with a unique atmosphere in which memories of the Second World War and the GDR could still be felt, these artists created a world in which "everything" seemed possible for a few decades. Regardless of origin, nationality, skin color, sexuality, or faith - Berlin gave this diverse society new possibilities for a peaceful get-together.

This rebirth of the united metropolis from East and West is the starting point for the development of the diverse art scene that we have in Berlin today. It has proven to be a model for intercultural dialogue, the exchange of creative ideas and peaceful get-togethers. It is also proof that walls can be dismantled and wounds healed, no matter how traumatizing the history of a city is. This diverse creative community has great healing powers and is a positive counterexample to the currently polarizing society in rights and democrats and in wealthy and poorer citizens.

CONTACT I SEMRA SEVIN I semra.sevin@gmail.com I +49 176 3121 0935 I

The German and international artists participating in the exhibition and living in Berlin are: Minor Alexander, Erik Andersen, Nina Ansari, Claas Bader, Philip Crawford, Mariona Berenguer, Per Christian Brown, Ulrike Buhl, Christa Joo Hyun D’Angelo, Mustafa Dok, GODsDOGs, Harm van den Dorpel, Margret Eicher, Adam Goldstein, Mia Granhøj, Ekin Su Koc, Miriam Lenk, Shannon Lewis, Nikolaus List, Nine Yamamoto-Masson, Toshihiko Mitsuya, Tere Recarens, Tanasgol Sabbah, Susanne Schirdewahn, Semra Sevin, Zuzanna Zita Skiba, Claudia Virginia Vitari, Melody LaVerne Bettencourt, Peter Wilde, Vadim Zakharov

CHIMERA, the title of the proposed exhibition, derives from the name of a fire-spitting animal from Greek mythology, which has several heads and several beings united in one body. Myths of the CHIMERA, also speak of another serious aspect: that seeing a CHIMERA is the omen of an imminent catastrophe. Are we confronted with a second reality with regard to the current situation in Berlin? The continuously rising rents, the problems in social housing construction, the increasing intimidation by the new rights, the growing gap between rich and poor, the homogenization of city districts, the tension between anarchy and rules - could the sum of what is currently happening in Berlin be an omen for an upcoming catastrophe, could the division of Berlin's citizens be imminent?

The invited Berlin artists will each create their own personal vision of "chimerical" Berlin. In doing so, they will relate their individual identity, their personal history, their artistic identity, dreams and hopes and their relationship to Berlin. The artists create fragmented identities, which together will create individual CHIMERA. These CHIMERAS are visualized in the form of photographs, sculptures, paintings, digital artworks, textiles, performances, projections, and collages. Since this diverse community would not exist without reunification, the opening of CHIMERA on the day of German reunification, October 3. On the day of the finissage there will be artist talks and a symposium with invited interdisciplinary scientists from various fields of research, culture and real estate.

The project space Kunstraum Bethanien in Kreuzberg is the ideal place to show an exhibition about the unification of different people in an unbiased, dynamic space. The Kreuzberg location has not only experienced an immigration from southern Europe and Turkey, but was traditionally also a refuge for conscientious objectors, for homeless runaway youths, for feminists, for anarchists and people with alternative views and attitudes. Today Kreuzberg is home to a mixture of ancestral and recently settled international populations, making it one of Berlin's most diverse neighborhoods.

The patron of Chimera, the Enter Art Foundation, is a young berlin based non-profit organization with the mission to support artists while building a unique collection of art. Funded through donations, the project offers the opportunity for artists to connect with gallerists, collectors and art lovers through group exhibitions. Selected artists are invited to show and sell their works and can keep 100% of their sales. After its debut in Basel during artbasel 2016, EAF has now shown and supported more than 320 artists in 11 exhibitions in Basel, Berlin, Bonn, Kassel, Köln, Rovinj (Croatia) and Stockholm (Sweden) with 68.000 visitors and more than 225 Sales www.enterart.com 

- Semra Sevin -