veronika kellndorfer at Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin

June 4, 2021

Christopher Grimes Projects is pleased to share images of Veronika Kellndorfer's works now on view for the pre-opening at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. 

An icon of twentieth-century architecture The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin was planned and built from 1963 to 1968, the steel and glass structure is the only building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Europe after his emigration to the United States. The refurbishment, headed by David Chipperfield Architects, has successfully restored and renewed the building to its original identity of high modernist architecture.

Kellndorfer was invited by the head of the museum Joachim Jägerto, to photograph Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie after it was closed to the public for renovations in 2015 creating multiple works as a result. She picked two moments in the fall and early spring when it was completely empty and renovation had just barely started––a unique point in time in the building’s history which Veronika was fortunate to document. "The resulting images are already imbued with a historical dimension, as they show the Neue Nationalgalerie in a kind of archaeological interim that will never be seen again," states Kellndorfer.

Invited to participate in an artistic project inspired by the Neue Nationalgalerie, Kellndorfer is presenting National Gallery, Shortly Before Renovation, 2017, and National Gallery, Shifted Corner, 2018. In her photographs of Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie, Kellndorfer reveals the divergence between our idea of the building and its actuality. Kellndorfer offers us new ways to understand and reconstruct the history documented in this body of work. Her photograph of the empty gallery during the process of restoration focuses on its raw materiality; the original steel, glass, and stone coexist with the new materials staged for installation along with the dust and dirt of the construction site.

Installation view, Veronika Kellndorfer, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Courtesy of the artist.

The National Gallery series was created in 2017 for the Chicago Architecture Biennale and was shown in 2018 in the city’s Elmhurst Art Museum curated by Berry Bergdoll, before the work Shortly before Renovation, 2017 became part of the Art Institute Collection. 

Using her distinct technique of binding silk-screened photographic images onto large glass panels, Kellndorfer bridges the gap between photography, architecture, painting, and installation. Kellndorfer’s work examines the graphic quality of architecture and its relationship with the landscape, as well as the transformation of light and movement between interior and exterior space.

Her use of scale succeeds in engaging the viewer by altering perception and spatial relationships, dramatically enlarging the underlying motif. Reflections place the viewer within the images—glare and the spatial ambiguity created by cast shadows reveal a depth and complexity to the work.

Pre-Opening Days:
June 4 - June 6, 2021

Neue Nationalgalerie
Potsdamer Str. 50
10785 Berlin
 

You may view her architectural portfolio here.

For more information on Veronika, please visit her artist page here.