Uber Art

Berlin's art scene is booming, with droves of foreign artists and dealers setting up shop in the city. Uta Baier and Gerhard Charles Rump, art critics at the Berlin-based daily Die Welt, gave us the lowdown on their favorite venues.

Künstlerhaus Bethanien The best thing about this former deaconesses' home in the hip Kreuzberg district, says Rump, is its presentation of artists who deal with "current topics like poverty and violence in their works." Dedicated to helping international artists since 1974, the venue, which is both publicly and privately funded, provides residents with 12-month grants. Twenty to 30 public exhibitions and performances are mounted each year. "They are always on the lookout for not-very-well-known artists who tend to turn up in big exhibitions years later," says Baier. "They have a sense for who is good." tel: [49-30] 61 69 030; www.bethanien.de

CAMERAWORK Rump calls Berlin the German "capital of photography," and Baier cites Camerawork for its "fully fledged innovative shows." The gallery is named after the legendary magazine published from 1903 to 1917 by photo pioneer Alfred Stieglitz — the period when photography was established as an art form. Camerawork displays photographs by greats like Man Ray and Leni Riefenstahl, and features works by promising photographers such as Robert Polidori and Mona Kuhn. tel: [49-30] 31 00 773; www.camerawork.de

GALERIE MICHAEL SCHULTZ Located in residential Charlottenburg, the gallery specializes in painting and sculpture by young German and international artists. The venue has "one of the best programs in town of both established artists and rising stars," says Rump, and "offers an interesting and varied view on the contemporary art scene." tel: [49-30] 32 41 591; www.galerie-schultz.de

KIOSKSHOP BERLIN Rump calls German artist H.N. Semjon's "Product Sculptures" a "completely crazy but very sensual exhibition." This permanent, privately funded installation shows everyday articles like milk cartons and newspapers preserved inside a thin layer of transparent beeswax. As the objects can be purchased, the venue is both gallery and shop. Says Rump of Semjon: "He wants to slow down in a [fast] modern society and replace the simple usage of objects with artistic purity." tel: [49-30] 78 41 291; www.kioskshopberlin.de