2,000 square meters for the visual arts

Even more space for art: with a group exhibition of around 100 artists, we are opening the extensive gallery space in the new Bergson Kunstkraftwerk building, giving the KÖNIG GALERIE 2,000 square meters of exhibition space as KÖNIG BERGSON. Experience how the various artists have addressed the themes of identity and transformation in their works. You can also marvel at Jeppe Hein's solo exhibition in the iconic silos and in the atrium. Works of art that encourage you to reflect and pause, mirrored balloons and other works await you.

We look forward to celebrating this next milestone on 12 July from 18:30 with a grand opening including a musical program together with all Bergson friends.

Register here for the Grand Opening.

The group exhibition METAPHOR TO METAMORPHOSIS, inspired by Franz Kafka, explores the themes of identity and transformation in a constantly changing world. On four floors and a total of 1,600 square meters, around 100 artists from the primary and secondary market

from the primary and secondary market present their works, which shed light on various facets of identity formation, be it through nationality, sexuality or personality traits. Identity is presented as a dynamic and unstable construct that is constantly questioned in the works.

At the same time, we are showing you the solo exhibition of the artist Jeppe Hein: EVERY MOMENT IS A NEW MOMENT in the iconic silos and atrium of the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk. Fourteen works will be installed, many of them with mirrored surfaces, so that viewers can participate in the reflected worlds for a moment, creating the sense of involvement that is so typical of Hein's work. In the long silo corridors, visitors have various opportunities for interaction: The works invite them to stop and pause, to reflect and to exchange ideas with their fellow human beings. Hein's playful approach encourages participation and raises awareness, attentiveness and empathy, giving his works a social quality.

The exhibition begins with the work EVERY MOMENT IS A NEW MOMENT, 2020, and prepares for the coming changes in perception. A rotating, bent mirror creates a fragmentary impression of space, as if it is constantly being reassembled from the number of reflected mirror images, reminiscent of looking through a kaleidoscope. On the opposite side, three golden balloons are tied to a birch trunk with a white ribbon (LET'S FLY AWAY III, 2023). Due to their shape and reflective surface, the balloons create a distorted spatial perspective, similar to a fish-eye view. Only the birch trunk seems to prevent the balloons from flying into the air and extending the reflection into infinity.

The work BREATHE ME IN BREATHE ME OUT, 2023, follows in the next room. In this mirror work, white neon letters light up in the sequence of the eponymous sentence, prompting viewers to breathe in and out accordingly, heightening their awareness of the present moment. In the same room, you have the opportunity to visualize your mood on one of the wooden panels (TODAY I FEEL LIKE ... violet / ultramarine blue, 2023), while a mirror in the form of a speech bubble encourages you to say everything without saying anything, SAY IT ALL WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING (MIRROR SPEECH BUBBLE), 2022. In recent years, Jeppe Hein has realized various artworks and educational projects with which he supports people and especially children to become more aware of themselves, their community, society and the environment.

YELLOW MODIFIED SOCIAL BENCH #10, 2021, offers a moment of pause to perform the breathing exercise or to look at the faces painted by the visitors. The bench is part of the "Modified Social Benches" series, based on Hein's many years of research into proximity and distance. The basic shape of the bench is based on the park or garden benches found all over the world. In their modified form, the benches transform their surroundings into places of social activity and promote dialog between those seated and passers-by.

Works from the artist's earlier creative periods are also on display, such as the sculpture FUSION OF MOVEMENT, 2004, which captures a moment between standstill and movement. Here, metal cubes are welded together so that they look like a rotating cube. The hexagonal work FIELD OF VISIONS, 2005, in turn, draws attention to both the limits and the possibilities of seeing.

An unusual perception of space is also created when entering the last silo room, where individual mirror slats form a curved line that shapes itself into a speech bubble (SPEECH BUBBLE MIRROR LABYRINTH I, 2023). Reality and mirror image combine to create an irritating situation that resembles the experience of a labyrinth and is intensified by the movement within and around the installation.

The exhibition EVERY MOMENT IS A NEW MOMENT continues in the spacious atrium of the Bergson power plant with further MIRROR BALLONS and several ROTATING MIRRORS, 2018. These reflective sculptures also question perception and change the visual perspective of the former industrial site. In addition to the exhibition in the silos, Hein sees these parallel spaces as a further place of dialog between the work, the viewer and the surroundings.

The grand opening on July 12 at 6:30 pm will be accompanied by a musical program. All friends of the Bergson

of the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk are cordially invited to celebrate this special milestone with us!