RESPIRATION. atelier le balto im Kunstgewerbemuseum
In the organizer's words:
Since 2001, the Berlin-based landscape architecture firm atelier le balto has stood for a special approach to open spaces and landscapes. The exhibition "RESPIRATION" at the Kunstgewerbemuseum provides an insight into 25 years of creative landscape design. It shows how urban wastelands, temporary installations and long-term garden projects develop in the field of tension between nature, architecture and human movement.
In December 2024, atelier le balto began transforming the outer courtyard of the Kunstgewerbemuseum. Visitors are invited to observe this transformation over the course of twelve months: From the stairs to the museum entrance, inside the museum or later directly in the garden.
The exhibition, which opens in February in the rooms adjacent to the inner courtyard, focuses on the process. "RESPIRATION" could be the title of a choreography. Garden art is indeed closely linked to movement, but here the plants are the main protagonists. A garden is never a static work; it grows, changes and interacts with its surroundings.
This can be seen not only in the photographs, sketches and plans on display, but also in the direct transformation of the museum courtyard at the Kulturforum. This is a living example of atelier le balto's work: trees, earth, light and shadow form a new composition that begins to breathe over time. The plants grow, people move through the space - the garden comes to life and connects with the museum landscape.
A garden awakens from its slumber
The outer courtyard of the Museum of Decorative Arts was inaccessible for a long time and had become overgrown over the years. Now this forgotten place is being revived. The transformation by atelier le balto will bring new life, new structures and new opportunities for interaction.
Over the course of the project, the garden will not only become a visible element of the museum, but also one that can be experienced. From summer 2025, it will be accessible - at least selectively - and available as a place of rest and reflection.
Gardens as snapshots vs. constant change
A garden is subject to constant change. Photographs and sketches capture fleeting moments - images of a state that will never return. The exhibition reflects this aspect by showing memories of gardens that atelier le balto has designed, built and maintained over the decades. The focus is not on individual projects, but on the central elements of the gardens: trees, shade, soil, material and construction. Individual sites merge into one large work, a coherent landscape.
At the same time, the exhibition makes the manual process of gardening visible: from planning to planting to maintenance. In addition to sketches and photographs, the exhibition shows tools, materials and techniques to make gardening tangible as an artistic and creative act.
atelier le balto - landscape architecture as an art form
atelier le balto has been working in Berlin since 2001 and realizes gardens in collaboration with its partner Marc Vatinel (Le Havre, France). Their projects include garden concepts for renowned art institutions such as the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the Brücke Museum, the Berlinische Galerie and the Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart. Public parks, such as the neighborhood park at the BOB Campus in Wuppertal or the Jubileumsparken in Gothenburg, are also part of her repertoire - and not least the tree nursery at the Kulturforum.
Characteristic of her work is the close relationship between plant growth, human movement and the urban environment. atelier le balto creates places of encounter and exchange that continue to evolve over time.
A special exhibition of the Kunstgewerbemuseum - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
https://www.smb.museum/ausstellungen/detail/respiration/
This content has been machine translated.Price information:
Admission to the Museum of Decorative Arts: €10.00, concessions €5.00; free admission for children and young people up to and including the age of 18.
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