Espace Surplus

In the location's words:

Espace Surplus - literally "surplus space" - was founded in September 2006 by Bettina Springer in an apartment at Knaackstraße 7 in Berlin Prenzlauer Berg. The name alludes to the dual use of the space - home and showroom at the same time - and thus implies the actual opposite of a surplus space. In this sense, "Espace Surplus" can be understood as the relativity of space, combined with the call to create spaces and acquire them anywhere and anytime.

The core of Espace Surplus's work is "Site-Specific Art," but it is not limited to a purely physical location. At a time when the consumer nature of site-specific artworks is coming under increasing criticism, it is important to refocus on art and the space that surrounds it. Precisely because the rapid developments of the art market are receding into the background and museum practice is acting differently, it is important to stop the ever-faster market cycle and consider art for a moment in its "assigned place." Assignment to a place - not only as a spatial, phenomenological, but equally as a socially conscious and understood conceptual, discursive location - allows the reference of the artwork to be conceived and staged as an alternative to the autonomous, free-floating artwork. Espace Surplus has always focused on a very specific context and at the same time actively worked on a corresponding contextualization at its various sites of action.

In the context of "Espace Surplus - School of Meaning and Collecting", for example, art education played a major role. It is its references (perhaps better: references) that make contemporary art understandable and readable, and therefore it must be made understandable. The disclosure and production of references is also the driving force behind Espace Surplus' interdisciplinary work. The interconnections of collaboration with various partners - be they musicians, authors, performers, or media - are abundant for the understanding and deepening of art, and this is where Espace Surplus comes in: Art is located by presenting references and making them experiential for the audience. Without being restrictive or definitive, always keeping the freedom of the viewer in mind - this is how possibilities are created.