Experiencing Art Together in the VBKI Neighborhood
Text and photos: Katja Bartz | Member Services
About 25 VBKI members gathered for the Charlottenwalk in the VBKI neighborhood. The group consisted of a great mix of long-time participants and new faces who were attending for the first time.
During the tour, the group visited four galleries, which offered participants a diverse range of insights into the current art scene. Susanne Burmehl’s expert guidance was particularly enriching: drawing on her extensive background knowledge, she explained selected works and also provided fascinating insights into the art market. Her commentary opened up new perspectives and encouraged a deeper engagement with the exhibits.
A refreshing break at Malte Uekermann Kunsthandel provided an opportunity for interaction and personal conversations. In a relaxed atmosphere, new and experienced participants quickly struck up conversations and were able to share their impressions.
The Charlottenwalk left a lasting impression on everyone involved and once again highlighted the special appeal of discovering art together and engaging in dialogue about it.
We visited the following galleries:
Bita Kolenda Gallery
Raha Rastifard is a contemporary conceptual artist whose work explores identity, cultural heritage, and memory. Her work centers on the question of how cultural narratives endure, change, and can be reinterpreted.
Given the situation in Iran, marked by suffering, loss, and political violence, many Persians are asking themselves how they can make their voices heard without perpetuating pain. How can we remember without becoming frozen in time?
The exhibition “Beneath the Surface” responds with a deliberate stance: It is not a place of pain, but one of hope, dignity, and inner continuity. Tradition and the present come together here in an ongoing, quiet dialogue.
Malte Uekermann Art Gallery
With the exhibition “Lothar Quinte: The 1960s,” the Malte Uekermann Art Gallery focuses on a pivotal phase in the career of a German artist who viewed painting as a visual event.
Quinte’s works remain relevant to this day because they do not merely depict but organize vision—as a precise interplay of rhythm, edge, and plane. The works from this decade demonstrate just how focused painting can be when it structures perception rather than illustrating it—as an order derived from composition, repetition, and variation.
Galerie Mond
Portraits are a classic theme in contemporary art. The featured artist, Martin Heinig , also asks : What says more about a person than their face?
His neo-expressionist paintings reveal what lies within the face: the tension between the individual and society, isolation, grief, and emotional intensity, but also euphoria and warmth.
It is hard to look away from these often large-scale heads, painted in oil and gouache. An immediate connection is formed between the viewer and the painting—a dialogue with art.
Albrecht Gallery
Nils Olav Bøe’s latest works continue his long-standing exploration of the photographic image and its visible and hidden meanings. The photographs and films examine the relationship between time and subject, as well as between realism and imagination.
A mysterious veil hangs over the black-and-white photographs and films. They hold a powerful fascination and raise questions: Where do these worlds exist? What are we really seeing?
The artist says he wants to find images that reflect inner states of mind—an explanation that invites a second look.
Impressions
To the picture gallery: Please click here>
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