All buildings carry within their walls the echo of overlapping timelines. Every room, every crack in the façade, and every surrounding street contains signs of those who have lived and resided here. When a layer is removed, countless stories come to light. Similary, art collections serve as guardians of time, holding within them the memories of generations and socio-political events. Through both the artworks they preserve and those they lack, collections document a present in flux.
Starting from the eventful history of the PalaisPopulaire, It's Just a Matter of Time explores the multifaceted intersections of time. Built in 1730 along Berlin's fortress moat, the builiding complex became a royal residence under the Prussian crown in 1788, into which the daughters of Kind Friedrich Wilhelm III and Queen Luise moved in 1810. Over the centuries, the Prinzessinnenpalais was shaped by political and cultural shifts: after the fall of the monarchy in 1918, it first was used for the Schinkel Museumin 1931 and later for rotating exhibitions. In postwar divided Berlin, the Palais belonged to the German Democratic Republic. Located in close proximity to the Palace of Republic, where the GDR parliament convened from 1976 to 1990, it stood at the architectural center of the Cold War. During this period, the building served as the Operncafé. After a prolonged period of vacany, the Palais was reopened in 2018 as a venue for contemporary art.
These historical layers form the backdrop for It's Just a Matter of Time. With an understanding that institutions are embedded in broader urban and historical contexts, the exhibition space, it underscores the idea that the history of a place is always intertwined with that of the city in which it is located.
It's Just a Matter of Time does not claim to depict past events or represent them comprehensivly. Rather, it seeks to trace echoes of the past-fragments that persist, resurface, and intertwine with the present.
Conceived as a contemplative journes through interior and exterior spaces, the exhibition presents artistic positions from 1946 to the present, featuring works from the Deutsche Bank Collection as well as selected loans.
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All buildings carry within their walls the echo of overlapping timelines. Every room, every crack in the façade, and every surrounding street contains signs of those who have lived and resided here. When a layer is removed, countless stories come to light. Similary, art collections serve as guardians of time, holding within them the memories of generations and socio-political events. Through both the artworks they preserve and those they lack, collections document a present in flux.
Starting from the eventful history of the PalaisPopulaire, It's Just a Matter of Time explores the multifaceted intersections of time. Built in 1730 along Berlin's fortress moat, the builiding complex became a royal residence under the Prussian crown in 1788, into which the daughters of Kind Friedrich Wilhelm III and Queen Luise moved in 1810. Over the centuries, the Prinzessinnenpalais was shaped by political and cultural shifts: after the fall of the monarchy in 1918, it first was used for the Schinkel Museumin 1931 and later for rotating exhibitions. In postwar divided Berlin, the Palais belonged to the German Democratic Republic. Located in close proximity to the Palace of Republic, where the GDR parliament convened from 1976 to 1990, it stood at the architectural center of the Cold War. During this period, the building served as the Operncafé. After a prolonged period of vacany, the Palais was reopened in 2018 as a venue for contemporary art.
These historical layers form the backdrop for It's Just a Matter of Time. With an understanding that institutions are embedded in broader urban and historical contexts, the exhibition space, it underscores the idea that the history of a place is always intertwined with that of the city in which it is located.
It's Just a Matter of Time does not claim to depict past events or represent them comprehensivly. Rather, it seeks to trace echoes of the past-fragments that persist, resurface, and intertwine with the present.
Conceived as a contemplative journes through interior and exterior spaces, the exhibition presents artistic positions from 1946 to the present, featuring works from the Deutsche Bank Collection as well as selected loans.
Further artworks from this exhibition
Julian Irlinger, James Gregory Atkinson, Philippe Parreno, Petrit Haliaj
Rotunda
Shilpa Gupta
Room 1
Max Beckmann, Lena Henke, Nancy Lupo, Heidi Bucher, Martin Kippenberger, Rachel Whiteread
Room 2
Cildo Meireles, Wisrah Celestino, Kai Althoff, Kandis Williams
Transition Room 2 to Room 3
Felix Gonzales-Torres, George Tony Stoll, Manfred Paul, Julia Phillips, Shilpa Gupta
Room 3
Cornelia Schleime, Marianne Berenhaut, Christo, Rosemarie Trockel, Latifa Echakhch
Room 4