Nov 2021
BETWEEN THE LINES (solo exhibition)
Rahmen & Kunst
Winsstr. 70, 10405 Berlin
Opening: Fri 19 Nov 2021 6 — 10 pm
The Berlin photo artist Menno Aden analytically deals with our environment in various photo series. Although mostly absent, his images always show traces of man. Aden's soberly detached gaze is that of a tracker, topographically mapping his environment through unusual use of technology and perspective.
The exhibition "Between the Lines" shows works from Aden's series "Assembly Lines", "Composition" and "Tracks and Fields". Despite conceptual differences, aesthetic parallels can be found in them, literally: by layering the bench, platform edge, and tile wall of a subway station, by using an industrial "line-scan camera" to record the movement of a robotic arm, by looking down on a gymnasium in which a grid of neon tubes rhythmizes the picture plane. Parallel structures, patterns, and systems of order that permeate and structure our everyday life can be found everywhere.
Nov 2021
Crossing the Dateline (group exhibition)
Contemporary Art Museum (RCAC), Bangkok
Group exhibition at Contemporary Art Museum (RCAC), Bangkok
Sep 2021
DIREKTE AUKTION 2021
Jun 2021
Betwixt (group exhibition) @ Tacheles, Berlin
Architecture, Construction and Imaginary Sites – “O54” Second installation “Betwixt”, Showcasing 13 Contemporary, International Artists at the Former Kunsthaus Tacheles.
TAPE MODERN Berlin is proud to present the second installation in “O54” exhibition series, taking place at the former Kunsthaus Tacheles on Oranienburger Str. 54. The exhibition “Betwixt” is opening on the 25th of June.
To book a time slot please follow this link:
https://pretix.eu/o54/betwixt
Menno Aden, Inna Artemova, Joanna Buchowska, Amir Fattal, Jens Hausmann, Michelle Jezierski, Stephanie Kloss, Timo Nasseri, Victoria Pidust, Przemek Pyszczek, Alona Rodeh, Erik Schmidt, Philip Topolovac
May 2021
someother mag: I SEE YOU
The someother mag issue I SEE YOU investigates the diverse forms in which surveillance transpires around us in the physical and virtual dimension. It is an examination of how the built envrironment absorbs transformations of the individual and the collective by looking at new paradigms of transparency. It expores the interrelation between the digital forms of surveillance and architectural space while unravelling the nature of this monitoring and delving into its relevance and influence on current events. https://someothermag.com
21 Jan — 30 Apr 2021
YAK SHAVING (group exhibition)
Menno Aden, Lukasz Furs, Anna Nero, Jurgen Ostarhild, Götz Schramm
YAK SHAVING is an art exhibition only possible in an online digital format due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The title of the exhibition "YAK SHAVING" describes an exercise in futility created by the pandemic restrictions. While art viewing is an activity relying on the full use of human senses, this total mental, emotional and physical experience is currently reduced to the screen by the overall closure of cultural and art-business institutions.
Still, personal initiative persists in creating meaning under the given conditions and is the best line of defence!
What is YAK SHAVING?
1. Any apparently useless activity which, by allowing to overcome intermediate difficulties, solves the problem at large.
2. A somewhat useful activity performed consciously or subconsciously in order to procrastinate about a larger more useful task.
Furthermore:
The exhibition views will be shown in a slide show format at www.emergingartist.de.
The project is initiated by the Berlin artist Lukasz Furs
29 Nov — 16 Jan 2021
Home/Guest (solo exhibition)
On Friday Nov. 29 there will be an opening of my exhibition "Home/Guest" in the still young Berlin gallery Die Ganze Freiheit. The 'soft opening' will be accompanied by Susie Asado (musician), a reading by Kristine Walther and a film by Eric Esser. Please feel free to drop by for the so-called "Soft Opening", where the concert and reading can be seen through the gallery window.
Die Ganze Freiheit
Greifswalder Str. 218
10405 Berlin
Home/Guest Opening Video
Instead of a gallery visit, this film (german only) tells about the creation of the exhibition Home/Guest.
Anstelle eines Galeriebesuchs erzählt der Film von der Entstehung der Ausstellung Home/Guest.
Dec 2020
Home/Guest (artist book) at issuu.com
The exhibition is accompanied by the artist book Home/Guest.
Take a look inside on issuu.com
26 — 28 Nov 2020
Direkte Auktion (group exhibition, auction)
Shows at different Galleries in Berlin
"To understand a work of art means to buy it," Arnulf Rainer is said to have said once. Rainer's statement applies all the more in times of the corona pandemic, which is hitting many cultural workers particularly hard. With a large team from the Berlin art scene, we have therefore created the Direct Auction, 70 percent of the proceeds of which will go back to the participating artists. At the end of November, more than 400 works by over 300 artists*, most of whom live and work in Berlin, will be auctioned off. On November 28 between 3 and 6 pm two of my works will also be auctioned.
The previews of the works will take place at the following galleries:
Lot 404: 23. — 28. Nov (15 — 18 Uhr) Galerie Selected Artists, Weydemeyerstraße 2, 10178 Berlin
Lot 339: 24. November (10 — 22 Uhr) Galerie Colonia Nova, Thiemannstrasse 1, 12059 Berlin
26 — 28 Nov 2020
Direkte Auktion (curating)
I am curating the preview "Berlin Banlieu" in the gallery LAGE EGAL for the Direkte Auktion together with Pierre Granoux, in which we will show more than 30 artistic statements by artists* living in Berlin (e.g. Jenny Brosinski, Egill Sæbjörnsson, Käthe Kruse) alongside established works (e.g. Martin Kippenberger, Georg Baselitz, Richard Hamilton). We look forward to seeing you.
LAGE EGAL
Greifswalder Str. 34, 10405 Berlin
20 - 28 November
27 Sep — 3 Oct 2020
Assembly Lines (solo exhibition)
I am pleased to invite you to my upcoming exhibition at LAGE EGAL in which I show works from my new series Assembly Lines. At the same time, the gallery shows works by Ties Ten Bosch, Marcel Broodthaers, Richard Hamilton, Michael Riedel (Sammlung Hückstedt) and Andrea Tappert.
Opening Reception: Sun 27 Sep 4 — 7 pm
13 Sep — 3 Oct, 3 — 6 pm and by appointment
Entry only with mask. Please respect and follow the hygienic measures.
LAGE EGAL
Greifswalder Str. 34
10405 Berlin
Assembly Lines
In his current series "Assembly Lines", Menno Aden records movements of industrial robots of fully automated production lines with the help of a line scan camera. A line scan camera is an industrial camera that works like a fixed scanner that scans only one image line. Line scan cameras are used in high speed assembly lines for quality control or for sorting processes where their image data are read out by machine. Aden makes these image data visible. What can be seen are the repetitive motion sequences of machines that mean both help and competition for mankind and that have become a symbol for the changes in our working world in recent years. They show us the "Outdatedness of Human Beings", as the cultural philosopher Günther Anders recognized as early as the 1950s.
4 — 6 Sep 2020
mittendrin - immer weiter (solo exhibition)
w/Andreas Neumann
Galerie im Kunstzentrum Tegel
Neheimer Str. 60, 1. OG
13507 Berlin
"The question is no longer how to distribute the fruits of labour fairly, but how to make the consequences of not working bearable." (Günther Anders)
In his current series "Assembly Lines", Menno Aden records movements of industrial robots of fully automated production lines with the help of a line scan camera. A line scan camera is an industrial camera that works like a fixed scanner that scans only one image line. Line scan cameras are used in high speed assembly lines for quality control or for sorting processes where their image data are read out by machine. Aden makes these image data visible. What can be seen are the repetitive motion sequences of machines that mean both help and competition for mankind and that have become a symbol for the changes in our working world in recent years. They show us the "Outdatedness of Human Beings", as the cultural philosopher Günther Anders recognized as early as the 1950s.
11 — 15 Sep 2019
DOMIZIL (group exhibition)
"I will take away the roofs of the houses by my devilish power and in spite of the darkness of the night the inside will lie open before your eyes. With these words he simply stretched out his right arm, and at that moment all the roofs disappeared. Now the student saw the inside of the houses (...) as if at bright midday. The sight was too new for him not to claim all his attention. He let his eyes wander in all directions, and the colorful variety of objects that surrounded him kept his curiosity busy for a long time."
Alain-René Lesage: The Lame Devil (Le Diable Boiteux), 1707
Dear partners, friends and colleagues,On the occasion of the ART WEEK BERLIN I would like to invite you to the group exhibition DOMIZIL, curated by Stefanie Seidl and Andrea van Reimersdahl.
Artists: Menno Aden, Alexandra Baumgartner, Astrid Busch, Alanna Lawley, Jenny Keuter, Bettina Khano, Virginie Mossé, Andrea Pichl, Katja Pudor, Andrea van Reimersdahl, Wieland Schönfleder, Stefanie Seidl, Alice Stepanek, Sinta Werner
DOMIZIL
Linienstraße 159
10115 Berlin
11 Sep — 15 Sep 2019 (12 — 7 pm)
(From 16 Sep 2019 by appointment)
OPENING RECEPTION: TUE 10 SEP 2019, 7 — 10 PM
27 Jan — 3 Mar 2018
SPECIES OF SPACES (group exhibition)
w/ Ute Lindner and Martin Pfahler
curated by Pierre Granoux
27 Jan — 3 Mar 2018
Thu — Sat 3 — 6 pm
OPENING RECEPTION: FRI 26 JAN 2018, 6 — 10 PM
HB 55
Herzbergstraße 55
10365 Berlin
23 Jun — 22 Jul 2017
Open Source - Installation at Berlin-Weekly (solo exhibition)
The Berlin-based artist Menno Aden specialises in the representation of spaces and perspectives. People almost never appear in his photographic work, which instead often focuses on what people have left behind. By depicting man-made order systems as well as their disorder, Aden's work is also an indirect portrait of humans.
For Berlin-Weekly, Aden shows an installation with a Berlin 'Spätkauf' (a 24/7 corner-shop) from a birds eye perspective. As if the ceiling was removed one can look into a box crammed with consumer goods. Aden literally turns the Berlin institution 'Späti' on it's head, and leaves the visitor irritated - not least because of the untypical opening of a 'Späti' in the gentrified posh Linienstraße.
Opening Reception: Thu 22 Jun 2017, 7 pm
Installation from 23 Jun to 22 Jul 2017
Berlin-Weekly
Linienstrasse 160
10115 Berlin
4 Mar — 9 Apr 2017
Menno Aden - Komposition (solo exhibition)
Curated by Mike Gessner
w/ Harf Zimmermann
Opening Speech by Dr. Enno Kaufhold
Kunstraum Potsdam
Schiffbauergasse 4d
14467 Potsdam
29 — 30 Apr 2017
Keep your Eyes peeled (group exhibition)
Group Exhibition on the occasion of the Berlin Gallery Weekend
Menno Aden, Verena Brüning, Lia Darjes, Dorothee Deiss, Joe Dilworth, Andrea Gjestvang, Ann-Kathrin Greiner, Alexander Grennigloh, Thomas Hoepker, Heinrich Holtgreve, Thomas Kellner, Isabel Kiesewetter, Birgit Krause, Sasha Kurmaz, Werner Mahler, Dawin Meckel, Sarah Strassmann, Sinta Werner, Maja Wirkus among others.
Opening Reception: 28 Apr 2017, 7pm
aff Galerie
Kochhannstraße 14
10249 Berlin, Germany
6 — 18 MAR 2017
@ BACC (Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre)
23 — 27 JUL 2017
@ Schaumbad Graz
Exhibition and Catalogue EVA
Thanks to Komson Nookiew for curating the EVA 2017. My video "Panel Flats" 2014 will be shown here:
Dec 2016
Over Head (solo exhibition, permanent installation)
My permanent installation 'Over Head' at the former US-Headquarter in Berlin-Dahlem is now completely installed with the large format work 'Untitled (Over Head 20)' and two backlighted photographs that are recessed into the ceiling. Both works show the former condition of the ceiling true to scale.
Find more images of my series on the art blog IGNANT
For his series 'Over Head' Aden photographed ceilings of the former U.S. Headquarter offices in Berlin-Dahlem. Aden captures a moment of this orphaned building's turbulent history during the Cold War – the time of transition up to its current reconstruction. Preserved by photography, this moment is carried into the present. Here are the observations of a pathfinder who scans the building for material remains of its now faded, historically significant function.
Aden does not address obvious traces that are omnipresent at a site like this. It is the inaccessible parts that interest him, the unconscious leftovers such as the pipe system and powerlines behind the ceilings, a web of veins that pervades the whole building and become readable only through the precise capture of the camera lens.
Menno Aden's digital editing and juxtapositioning of individual works carry a rhythmic playfulness from which emerges a particularly sensible and graphic aesthetics.
3 — 6 Nov 2016
Perspektive.Land.Stadt (group exhibition)
My works Untitled (Parallel Home 01 - 04), 2008 will be shown at the group exhibition Perspektive.Land.Stadt at Kunsthaus Potsdam from 3 - 6 Nov 2016 in the context of a convention of the Bundesstiftung Baukultur. The exhibition is curated by Christina Gräwe. A catalogue will be available.
Opening reception 3 Nov 2016, 6pm
Kunsthaus Potsdam
Schiffbauergasse 4d
14467 Potsdam
1 — 30 Oct 2016
Menno Aden - Room Portraits (solo exhibition)
Galerie Schuster, Hardenbergstr. 9, 10623 Berlin
In the context of the European Month Of Photography
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY 30 SEP 2016, 7 — 10pm
Menno Aden works are often topographical in nature, whether photographing systems of pipes, façades, or structures.
For his series 'Room Portraits' Aden flattens the interiors of real living and working spaces into 2D scale models by stitching together 10 to 1,000 images taken from above by remote control. The technique is akin to removing the ceiling and replacing it with a scanner. The results reveal hidden symmetrical compositions and the way the (absent) inhabitants exist in their enclosed spaces.
For his series 'Over Head' Aden photographed ceilings of the former U.S. Headquarter offices in Berlin-Dahlem. Aden captures a moment of this orphaned building's turbulent history during the Cold War – the time of transition up to its current reconstruction. Preserved by photography, this moment is carried into the present. Here are the observations of a pathfinder who scans the building for material remains of its now faded, historically significant function. Aden does not address obvious traces that are omnipresent at a site like this. It is the inaccessible parts that interest him, the unconscious leftovers such as the pipe system and powerlines behind the ceilings, a web of veins that pervades the whole building and become readable only through the precise capture of the camera lens. Menno Aden's digital editing and juxtapositioning of individual works carry a rhythmic playfulness from which emerges a particularly sensible and graphic aesthetics.
29 April — 6 May 2016
Exhibition during the Gallery Weekend Berlin (group exhibition)
I'm glad to participate with my series Panel Flats at the group show Berlin Raum Radar during Gallery Weekend Berlin. The show presents a selection of 30 artists and has been curated by Nadine Barth. I'd be happy to see you at the opening.
Berlin Raum Radar is one of VOGUE’s Top 10 Highlights of Gallery Weekend Berlin 2016.
Opening Reception: 29 April 2016, 5 – 9 pm
NEUE WEST, Potsdamer Str. 91, 10785 Berlin
Menno Aden, Iwan Baan, Sibylle Bergemann, Peter Bialobrzeski, Ben de Biel, Tacita Dean, Mitch Epstein, Christine Fenzl, Andreas Gehrke, Alexander Gnädinger, Markus Henttonen, Ola Kohlemainen, Stefan Koppelkamm, Dawin Meckel, Arwed Messmer, Ingo Mittelstaedt, Andreas Mühe, Robert Polidori, Blaise Reutersward, Yoram Roth, Pola Sieverding, Sarah Schönfeld, Michael Schulz, Dorothea Tuch, Friederike von Rauch, Julia Wagner, Michael Wesely, Ulrich Wüst, Harf Zimmermann
In context to the show a book will be published by Hatje Cantz:
Berlin Raum Radar - New Architecture Photography
Hatje Cantz
German and English, May 2016, hardcover
ISBN 978-3-7757-4179-8
19 Mar — 5 Jun 2016
Another Better World (group exhibition)
Eight works of my series Room Portraits are currently on show in a group exhibition.
Curated by David J. Brown (Director of the Fine Art Museum, Western Carolina University)
The Bascom, 323 Franklin Road, Highlands, NC 28741, USA
Menno Aden, John O’Connor, Ruth Dusseault, Gonzalo Fuenmayor, Patrick Jacobs, Richie Johnson/Marconi Union, Gideon Mendel, Carol Prusa, Joyce Scott, Randy Shull