New direction

Much of this year's art forum berlin is new. The most central change: its two new directors, Eva-Maria Haeusler and Peter Vetsch, who both worked for Art Basel - the world's top art fair - for ten years.

The new directors have said forum berlin will continue to focus on contemporary art, but there will also now be a section devoted to works from the 1960s to the present. Selecting quality galleries to participate has also been the new directors' goal.

"That means galleries that really work directly with their artists - who represent them, help build their careers, support them in projects and productions and so on," Haeusler said.

Out of 300 applicants, an international committee selected the 130 galleries from 19 countries participating in the fair. It is the seriousness of their work and the respect they enjoy in the international art world that clinched them their space at art forum.

Half of the gallerists are from abroad; of the Germans participating, half of them are based in Berlin.

The trend is "no trend"

The art on show is amazingly varied; the trend seems to be that there is no trend: photography, painting, sculpture, installations and videos all stand side-by-side with equal representation. The works, however, have higher price tags than in years past - one consequence of emphasizing quality.

Haeusler said she also felt "renewed optimism" among gallerists after a tough financial year last year.

"I think that the market is very European, which is good," said Berlin gallerist Gerd Harry Luebke. "It's too bad that the American collectors are not traveling here like they used to, but that will change again," he added.

Such an optimistic attitude is key since the most essential measure of an art fair's success is sales. To boost them, the fair's organizers have turned their attention to collectors, museum directors and curators who, for the first time ever at the art forum, can enjoy a special VIP program that includes visiting private collections and studios, and attending talks and receptions at Berlin's top art institutions.

Understanding the present from the past

Directors Hausler and Vetsch have also added a "post-war modernism" section to art forum: Looking at art from the past 60 years to better understand today's art. That also means looking at the city of Berlin, which co-director Vetsch said had become "Europe's art capital" during the past decade.

"But opening up the fair to look at art from the past 50 years does not mean drawing attention away from what art forum and Berlin have represented for years - and that is contemporary art," he said.

"Contemporary" art includes a photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe, ceramic bats displayed in a glass cabinet by Canadian Marcel Dzama, for a price of $25,000, or woodcut prints by twin brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias - who have also shown their works in New York's MoMA - in a similar price category.

Silke Bartlick (als)
Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn

Check out the links below for other shows going on in galleries throughout Berlin this weekend.