Curator: Kathrin Becker

John Bock has developed a new project for Neuer Berliner Kunstverein that intermeshes elements of installation, film, and performance in four different spaces. The pivotal work of the exhibition im AntliTZ des SchädelapparaTZ is a 4.2-meter-high metal wedge hanging from the ceiling of the exhibition space. It serves both as an action space for four dancers and one actor, and as a set for a film that will be shown in a projection room at n.b.k., starting on June 25, 2019. The transient element of the performative and the time-based nature of the medium video permeate each other. Being an integral part of the exhibition, performative “lectures” involving the five live actors will take place on Monday, June 17, 2019, Tuesday, June 25, 2019, and Friday, June 28, 2019, beginning at 7 pm respectively. In each of the two adjoining rooms at n.b.k., Bock has created another independent, extensive installation.

In his works, John Bock brings together live actions, drawings, sculptures, installations, film sets, and film projections to create a Gesamtkunstwerk. His spatial arrangements, which are characterized by material combinations, can become a place for live actions, which the artist calls “lectures”. His work is built on a darkly tinted humor, which expresses itself not least on a linguistic level by means of neologisms, repetitions, onomatopoeia, and surprising language combinations. 

Neuer Berliner Kunstverein is realizing the exhibition with John Bock on the occasion of its 50th anniversary as a project that exemplarily continues the many years of the n.b.k.’s practice as an educational institution and place of aesthetic experience. 

Biographical Note

John Bock (b. 1965 in Gribbohm, Schleswig-Holstein) lives in Berlin. Solo exhibitions (selection): The Contemporary Austin (2017); La Panacée, Montpellier (2017); Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2017); Museum of the Moving Image, New York (2016); Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn (2013); REDCAT, Los Angeles (2008); Group exhibitions (selection): Fondazione Prada, Milan (2017); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2015); Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2015).

Public Program

Monday, June 17, 2019 / Tuesday, June 25, 2019 / Friday, June 28, 2019, 7 pm

Performance by John Bock with Frantics Dance Company and Frank Seppeler

Tuesday, June 27, 2019, 7 pm

Zum Begriff des Performativen in der zeitgenössischen Kunst (On the Notion of the Performative in Contemporary Art)

Panel discussion with John Bock (artist, Berlin), Gabriele Brandstetter (Professor of Theater Studies with a Focus on Dance Studies, Freie Universität Berlin), Anna-Catharina Gebbers (curator, Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin), moderated by Angela Rosenberg (curator, Berlin)

In German

Sunday, July 14, 2019, 5–10 pm

Das Fest.50 – On the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Neuer Berliner Kunstverein

Performances and concerts by John Bock, Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings (with Jörg Hiller and Oren Ambarchi), Adda Kaleh (aka Alexandra Pirici), Luci Lippard 

Catering: Zagreus Projekt / Cocktails: Straight Up, Berlin

Free admission to all events

Film production im AntliTZ des SchädelapparaTZ, 2019
Director: John Bock // Editing: Benjamin Quabeck // Camera and Lighting: Raphael Beinder // Gaffer: Andy Kaiser // Set photography: Martin Sommer // Sound: Kris Limbach // Art Department: Felix Rombach // Production: Anette Schäfer // Cast: Frantics Dance Company (Carlos Aller, Enrique de Miguel, Marco di Nardo, Diego de la Rosa), Frank Seppeler

Exhibition soundtrack:
Kris Limbach, Benjamin Quabeck