Intimacy: New Queer Art from Berlin and Beyond

Intimacy is one of the central topics in queer art. Here, the relationship between the public and the private is expressed in a distinctive way. Even though it can be risky for queer minorities to make their intimate relations public, new forms and versions of intimacy have constantly evolved, especially in Berlin – with people finding ecstasy on the dancefloor, adventure in the darkroom, or tenderness in their polyamorous relationships.

These realities are framed by medial and pharmacological developments. The digitization left its marks on the portrayal of queer intimacies, as well as the medical narratives of HIV/AIDS – all the way to the current Covid 19 pandemic. The exhibition “Intimacy” presents over 30 positions of queer contemporary art discussing these topics: photography, painting, sculptures, video installations and film.

Featuring artworks from Sholem Krishtalka, Rafael Medina, Del LaGrace Volcano, Elijah Burgher, Abel Burger, Simon Fujiwara, Slava Mogutin, AA Bronson, John Paul Ricco, Eva Giannakopoulou, Marlon Riggs, Michaela Melián, Vika Kirchenbauer, Doron Langberg, Kerstin Drechsel, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Clifford Prince King, Derrick Woods-Morrow, Emerson Ricard, Victor Luque, Spyros Rennt, Irma Joanne, Lucas Foletto Celinski, Florian Hetz, Zanele Muholi, Tejal Shah, Roey Victoria Heifetz, Annie Leibovitz, Donna Huanca, Cibelle Cavalli Bastos, Studio P-P, George Le Nonce, Josch Hoenes and Tomka Weiß.

Digital tour with curator Peter Rehberg: January 21, 2021, 7pm (via SMU’s facebook channel)

Lecture series in cooperation witz ICI Berlin and Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung starting February 11, 2021

Curators: Peter Rehberg & Apostolos Lampropoulos

Exhibition architecture: Diogo Passarinho Studio 

Supported by Haupstadtkulturfonds.

Cover Photo: Whole, Victor Luque, 2018