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ART IN THE UNDERGROUND
"IDK what's going on but it's a lot" ... hardly a fleeting thought could better sum up the beginning of 2024: Anyone currently riding the Berlin U9 subway under the Tiergarten to the Hansaplatz station suddenly finds themselves in a resonance chamber of their own contemplative thoughts. Because there, where advertising usually adorns the walls, Stefan Marx's artistic intervention opens up new spaces for thought. "Dreaming of Kiyosumi Park", "Adieu Wrong Plans", "I'm here to sing you songs" in Ukrainian, "Listen to the Rain" in Vietnamese or "Thank you for Waiting" in Japanese – the Berlin-based artist gives poetic form to the jumble of thoughts and (subconscious) daydreams with his large-format typography.
Fittingly for the underground exhibition, the name of the new space for art and culture, officially opening on February 1st in the station above, evokes an underground chamber of wonders: Grotto. However, this grotto is part of the above-ground Hansaviertel, a prime example of modern architecture, and is open to everyone, not just a select few strolling through.
"No admission, no access restrictions, extensive opening hours – it hardly gets more democratic. A subway station is an ideal exhibition space. Subliminal, even. Not just for the world theater of passers-by, commuters, and vagrants who meet here mornings and evenings, but also for art."
Tagesspiegel
Tagesspiegel
Stefan Marx has a keen sense for transforming snippets of conversation or song lyrics wafting through public spaces into a interplay between medium and message, art and pop, through his drawing, graphic, and painting work. His unique calligraphic images were enlarged into posters for the exhibition.
Marx spent his youth skateboarding and came to art through this passion. It all started with designs for record and fashion labels; today, the Berlin-based artist is internationally renowned and exhibits his works from Tokyo to New York.
Marx spent his youth skateboarding and came to art through this passion. It all started with designs for record and fashion labels; today, the Berlin-based artist is internationally renowned and exhibits his works from Tokyo to New York.
"(...) he has retained the cheeky attitude of a skater to this day, even though his pictures have been exhibited in galleries and museums for years."
ZEIT-Newsletter
The exhibition at Hansaplatz, with the poetically profane title 16 Hintergleisflächen, runs until January 31, 2024.
Stefan Marx and Hatje Cantz are connected through various joint publications that showcase the diversity of his work. In spring 2024, his new book Monotypien / Monotypes will also be published by us.
Stefan Marx – Schriftbilder / Type Works
For more than two decades, Marx has been engaged with type works, translating song lyrics and quotes into poetic paintings and drawings – this book is the first comprehensive collection of his remarkable bridge between art and pop in various media.
Stefan Marx – Notes
Stefan Marx draws a lot and on a wide variety of surfaces: on large and small, colored or white papers, on cardboard, porcelain, skateboards, or textiles. But what always accompanies him is a notebook for all his great and small ideas.
From these notebooks, he developed an edition: 4 different covers and drawn surprises here and there on the inside pages. Anyone who buys a single booklet leaves it to chance; however, for those who don't want to miss any of their own thoughts in the future, nor any of Stefan Marx's drawings, there is the complete set.
Stefan Marx – Reading the News
For the New York Times in 2019, Stefan Marx drew a month-long declaration of love for reading newspapers in the form of apples, pumpkins, and bananas. This resulted in his coloring artist book, Reading the News. Large-format and on thick cardboard, these little fruits not only make newspaper readers smile.
All exhibition views: Stefan Marx. 16 Hintergleisfächen, 2024 © GROTTO Berlin
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12.01.2024