strangers: Petra Karadimas, Kaisu Koivisto | 1–22.3.2025

Warm invitation to the opening of strangers with works by PETRA KARADIMAS + KAISU KOIVISTO

on Friday, February 28, 19:00 – 22:00 at Toolbox Finnish-German Art Space Berlin.

In their photographic works, Petra Karadimas and Kaisu Koivisto both observe a nature more out of sync than picturesque. 

Karadimas focuses on nature in an urban setting, photographing buildings, anonymous structures and vegetation thriving side by side. Together, they form a web of visual and cultural references where nature often inhabits the spaces in between or inadvertently outgrows the spaces it has been allotted. 

Koivisto, on the other hand, travels to the far north and its uninhabited landscapes, investigating processes of change. She captures landscapes that are no longer serene and untouched, yet remain unnervingly beautiful even in the face of looming ecological emergencies.

PETRA KARADIMAS (b. 1967, based in Berlin, Germany) photographs her everyday urban environment. Proceeding from details in her surroundings, she questions a perception based on seemingly incidental urban scenarios and examines fragments of nature and landscape in the spaces in-between the city. Building sites, wasteland and transitory spaces form a starting point for an investigation of urban codes and structures that meet and interact in an urban setting. www.karadimas.de

KAISU KOIVISTO (b.1962, based in Helsinki, Finland) works across photography, sculpture and installation. Her interests are deeply rooted in the North: its landscapes, political dimensions and the changes happening in them. In her ongoing photographic projects Conversations With Ice and Soft Ice Koivisto explores Arctic landscapes dominated by ice, sea and rocks. The presence and consequences of human activity is visible as an estranged landscape and mindscape. http://kaisukoivisto.com/

Exhibition March 1 – 22, 2025
Gallery hours Wed – Sat 15:00 – 19:00
Kolonie Weekend Sunday, March 1, 14:00 – 18:00 

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In ihren fotografischen Arbeiten beobachten Petra Karadimas und Kaisu Koivisto eine Natur, die weniger pittoresk als aus dem Gleichgewicht geraten zu sein scheint.

Karadimas beschäftigt sich mit Natur in einem städtischen Umfeld – fotografiert Gebäude, anonyme Strukturen und die Vegetation, die daneben gedeiht. Gemeinsam bilden sie ein Netz visueller und kultureller Bezüge, in dem die Natur oft die Zwischenräume der Stadt einnimmt oder unversehens über die ihr zugewiesenen Räume hinauswächst.

Koivisto hingegen reist in den hohen Norden und seine unbewohnten Landschaften, um Veränderungsprozesse zu untersuchen. Sie fängt Landschaften ein, die nicht mehr still und unberührt sind, aber selbst angesichts der sich abzeichnenden ökologischen Notlagen beunruhigend schön bleiben.

PETRA KARADIMAS (geb. 1967, lebt in Berlin, Deutschland) fotografiert ihr alltägliches urbanes Umfeld. Ausgehend von Details in ihrer Umgebung hinterfragt sie eine auf scheinbar beiläufigen urbanen Szenarien basierende Wahrnehmung und untersucht Fragmente von Natur und Landschaft in den Zwischenräumen der Stadt. Baustellen, Brachflächen und transitorische Räume bilden den Ausgangspunkt für eine Untersuchung urbaner Codes und Strukturen, die in einem städtischen Umfeld aufeinandertreffen und interagieren. www.karadimas.de

KAISU KOIVISTO (geb. 1962, lebt in Helsinki, Finnland) arbeitet in den Medien Fotografie, Skulptur und Installation. Ihre Interessen sind tief im Norden verwurzelt: seine Landschaften, seine politischen Dimensionen und die dort stattfindenden Veränderungen. In ihren laufenden Fotoprojekten Conversations With Ice und Soft Ice erkundet Koivisto arktische Landschaften, die von Eis, Meer und Felsen geprägt sind. Die Präsenz und die Folgen menschlicher Aktivitäten werden als eine entfremdete Landschaft und Gedankenwelt sichtbar. http://kaisukoivisto.com/

Ausstellung 1. bis 22. März 2025

Öffnungszeiten der Galerie Mi – Sa 15:00 – 19:00 

Kolonie Wochenende Sonntag, 1. März, 14:00 – 18:00 

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Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloer Straße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Poster

DEATH – Richard Najorka 24.01. – 21.02.2025

Warm invitation to the opening of DEATH by Richard Najorka on Friday, January 24th 2025, 18:00–21:00

In DEATH, objects related to death, mourning, and remembering are being called into question regarding their materiality as well as their spatial and social contexts. DEATH is Richard Najorka’s first solo show. He studied at Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main and lives in Berlin.

Open by appointment until February 21st, please contact: richardnajorka@outlook.de

Open on Kolonie Wedding weekend:
Friday, January 31: 19:00–21:00
Sunday, February 02: 14:00–17:00


German

Herzliche Einladung zur Eröffnung der Ausstellung DEATH von Richard Najorka am Freitag, 24 Januar 2025, 18:00–21:00

In DEATH werden Objekte, die im Zusammenhang mit Tod, Trauer und Erinnerung stehen, in ihrer Materialität sowie in ihrer räumlichen und sozialen Einordnung hinterfragt. DEATH ist Richard Najorkas erste Einzelausstellung. Er hat an der Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main studiert und lebt in Berlin.

Geöffnet nach Vereinbarung bis 21. Februar, bitte kontaktieren Sie: richardnajorka@outlook.de

Öffnungszeiten am Kolonie Wedding Wochenende:
Freitag, 31. Januar: 19:00–21:00
Sonntag, 02. Februar: 14:00–17:00


Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Paper buckedhead

Finissage: motifs récurrents

You are warmly welcome to join the finissage of Motifs récurrents

Finissage Saturday 4. January 2025  13:00-18:00

Performance by Guda Koster & Frans van Tartwijk 15:30

Since 2015, Guda Koster and Frans van Tartwijk have been creating performances with sculptural figures, which are mostly made from various sorts of textiles. The sculptures incorporate influences from abstract art, avant-garde fashion and traditional ritualistic figures. 

The performances are done in public space. The puzzled passers-by may wonder what the true nature of these surreal apparitions is. Are they machines or performers? Are they male or female? This ambiguity raises questions about identity, existence, and the boundaries between art and reality.

Seit 2015 machen Guda Koster und Frans van Tartwijk Performances mit skulpturalen Figuren, die meist aus verschiedenen Arten von Textilien gefertigt sind. In die Skulpturen kommen Einflüsse aus abstrakten Kunst, Avantgarde-Mode und traditionellen rituellen Figuren zusammen. 

Die Performances finden meist im öffentlichen Raum statt. Die Passanten fragen sich vielleicht, was die wahre Natur dieser surrealen Erscheinungen ist. Sind sie Maschinen oder Performer? Sind sie männlich oder weiblich? Diese Mehrdeutigkeit wirft Fragen über Identität, Existenz und die Grenzen zwischen Kunst und Realität auf.

www.fransvantartwijk.nl/performances/

https://gudakoster.nl/project-type/performance

Toolbox

Motifs récurrents

Welcome to the opening of the on Fri 29 November 2024 at 19:00–22:00

Opening hours on Kolonie Wedding weekend:
Sat: 30.11.2024: 15:00–18:00
Sun 01.12.2024: 14:00–18:00

Exhibition running until 4 January 2025
Opening hours from 2.–14.12.2024 by arrangement
e-mail: mail@galerietoolbox.com

Finissage: 4 January 2025 (13:00–18:00)
At at 15:30 there will be a performance by Frans von Tartwijk with Guda Koster


Galerie Toolbox presents ‘Motifs récurrents’, a groupshow with works by Amsterdam-based artists Frans van Tartwijk (NL), Jean-Philippe Paumier (Fr) and Jean-Philippe Rousset (Fr). The show will run from friday november 29th until saturday january 4th. The opening will take place on november 29th.

The exhibition consists of a three-way conversation between drawings, paintings and installations. Displayed in the gallery space, they reveal mutual influences, references and correspondances between the artworks. Each in their own way the artists explore differents aspects of reality and incorporate these into their works.

‘Motifs récurrents’ does not intend to draw any conclusion, but offers a common ground for formal shared interests on which each artist develops his own visual grammar and aesthetic statement.

Frans van Tartwijk (NL, 1963) is a dutch painter and performance artist. His work has been exhibited in many galleries and art spaces in the Netherlands and abroad. He recently took part in a residency in Chengdu (China), together with Guda Koster.

Jean-Philippe Rousset (Fr, 1973) graduated at the Art Academy of Clermont-Ferrand. His lives and works in Amsterdam. Since 2018 he forms an artistduo with Jean-Philippe Paumier (JP&JP) and exhibits regularly in and around Amsterdam.

Jean-Philippe Paumier (Fr, 1980) mostly creates sculptures and installations based on the principles of ‘ready-made’ and ‘objet trouvé’. His work has been showed in several artspaces, art fairs and galleries in the Netherlands and abroad.

www.fransvantartwijk.nl
www.paumier.weebly.com

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Piet_Zwaanswijk

Autumn walk – Dutch artists visiting Berlin Wedding 25.10.–24.11.2024

In dialogue with Berlin artists

Cordial invitation to the guest exhibition with Dutch artists at
InteriorDAsein and Toolbox. As part of the project space association
Kolonie Wedding.  In collaboration with Kunstruimte 411, Haarlem,
Netherlands. Curated by Hans Kuiper and Archi Galentz.

With works by Marius van Zandwijk (painting), Aquil Copier (painting), Piet Zwaanswijk (collage/print), Jessica Assmann-Zwaanswijk (painting), Sina Khani (painting), Ilja Warmerdam (painting), MC de Waal (photography), Antonio Rego (digital drawing prints), Gerard Veldman (painting), Daan van Houten (drawing/woodcut), Rene Bosch (photography/painting), Tarik Sadouma (AI print) and Hans Kuiper (drawing/painting).

In dialog with Berlin artists: Gisa Hausmann, Jelisaweta Klutschewskaja, Edwin Dickman, Klaus Jürgeit, Jovan Balov, Thomas J.Richter, Cristina Artola, Svenja Schüffler, Markus Schaller, Gagik Kurginian, Julia Katan, Patrick Huber, Julia Kissina and others.

Opening on Friday, October 25 from 7 pm in InteriorDAsein, hosted by
Archi Galentz and simultaneously in ToolBox, hosted by Hans Kuiper.

Opening hours on Saturday and Sunday, October 26 and 27 from 4 to 7 pm.
After the colony weekend by appointment.

Finissage on November 24 from 4 to 7 pm in ToolBox and from 7 to 10 pm
in InteriorDAsein.

Addresses:
InteriorDAsein, Steegerstraße 2, 13359 Berlin
ToolBox, Koloniestraße 120, 13359 Berlin
Transportation from InteriorDAsein to Toolbox: 3 stops by bus 255 or 18 minutes on foot.

Storage plan of Kolonie Wedding and list of further exhibitions of the
project space association: https://koloniewedding.de/

Artwork by Piet Zwaanswijk


Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Jussi_Pyky_Worldview-2024-195x150cm-charcoal_and_ink_on_paper-scaled.jpg

Victory over Nature and Man – 27.9.-19.10.2024

Drawings by Jussi Pyky

Toolbox Kabinett: Carola Ernst

You are very welcome to our opening on Fri 27.9.2024, 7 pm

27.9.–19.10.2024, Toolbox opening hours: Wed–Sat 3–7 pm

Toolbox is open on the Kolonie Wedding weekend only on Sunday, 29.9.2024 from 2–6pm

For German, please scroll down


Jussi Pyky

It gave him fire.
He cooked the meat and ate.
He heated the ore to separate the iron.
He forged a sword, an axe, a plow and a scythe.
He built a shelter for the cattle and harnessed his horse to pull the plow.
He took over the land, cleared the forests, sowed the field and reaped the harvest.
It gave him simple machines.
He dug his way into the ground.
He built great machines that spewed the contents of the earth into the sky.
It gave him electricity.
He built engines and robots to do jobs that humans would have needed.
It gave him radio waves.
He developed the radio and used it to spread his propaganda.
It gave him artificial intelligence.
He amassed vast material to control, rule and maximize his profits.
It gave him power.
He had blind faith in his vision and infallibility.
He considered all the misery and suffering he caused to be necessary.
That’s the price of progress.

Jussi Pyky (born in Tyrnävä, Finland 1985 ) lives and works in Helsinki. He graduated from the
Lahti Institute of Fine Arts in 2009 and from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. Pyky has presented his works in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. His work is found in Seppo Fränti Collection in Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and private collections.
Download CV Jussi Pyky (PDF)

The exhibition has been supported by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and the Finnish Art
Promotion Center.

Artwork: Jussi Pyky Worldview, 2024, charcoal and ink on paper, 195 x 150 cm


Carola Ernst – Wirkung [Effect]

Solar, 2021
indian ink, watercolor – wax pastell, oil pastel chalk, acrylic, graphite on canvas
136 x 121 cm (artist framed)

Conundrum images, tilt figures, hidden object images, forms of multi-stable perception,
and multi-perspective are well-known forms of expression in art.
I am engaged in the exploration of new perceptual strategies in painting and drawing. On a
scientific level, my work is influenced by the theories of advanced psychophysics and the
findings of neuroscience on processes of perception and consciousness. The limits of
perception with the question of reality, fantasy, and imagination are essential components.
The experience of different levels of reality in the visual arts, as they can be experienced,
for example, in shifts of consciousness in dreams or intoxication, as well as the
intensification of impressions through provoked emotions or intrusive memories, are here
the core of my artistic work.

Download CV Carola Ernst (PDF)


Deutsch:

Herzliche Einladung zur Eröffnung der Ausstellung am Freitag, 27.9.2024, ab 19 Uhr

Am Koloniewochenende ist die Toolbox nur am Sonntag, 29.9.2024 von 14–18 Uhr geöffnet.

Victory over Nature and Man [Sieg über Natur und Mensch]

Es gab ihm Feuer.
Er kochte das Fleisch und aß.
Er erhitzte das Erz, um das Eisen zu trennen.
Er schmiedete ein Schwert, eine Axt, einen Pflug und eine Sense.
Er baute einen Unterstand für das Vieh und schirrte sein Pferd an, um den Pflug zu ziehen.
Er eroberte das Land, rodete die Wälder, säte den Acker und erntete die Früchte.
Es gab ihm einfache Maschinen.
Er grub sich in den Boden.
Er baute große Maschinen, die den Inhalt der Erde in den Himmel schleuderten.
Sie schenkte ihm Elektrizität.
Er baute Motoren und Roboter, um Arbeiten zu erledigen, die Menschen gebraucht hätten.
Er schenkte ihm Radiowellen.
Er entwickelte das Radio und nutzte es, um seine Propaganda zu verbreiten.
Sie schenkte ihm künstliche Intelligenz.
Er häufte riesige Mengen an Material an, um zu kontrollieren, zu herrschen und seine Gewinne zu maximieren.
Das gab ihm Macht.
Er hatte blindes Vertrauen in seine Vision und Unfehlbarkeit.
Er hielt all das Elend und Leid, das er verursachte, für notwendig.
Das ist der Preis des Fortschritts.

Jussi Pyky (geboren 1985 in Tyrnävä, Finnland) lebt und arbeitet in Helsinki. Er schloss sein Studium am Lahti Institute of Fine Arts im Jahr 2009 und an der Finnischen Akademie der Schönen Künste im Jahr 2016 ab. Pyky hat seine Werke in zahlreichen Einzel- und Gruppenausstellungen in Finnland und im Ausland präsentiert. Seine Arbeiten befinden sich in der Sammlung Seppo Fränti im Museum für zeitgenössische Kunst Kiasma und in privaten Sammlungen.

Download CV Jussi Pyky (PDF)


Carola Ernst – Wirkung

Vexierbilder, Kippfiguren, Wimmelbilder, Formen der multistabilen Wahrnehmung und
Multiperspektive sind in der Kunst bekannte Ausdrucksformen.

Ich beschaftige mich mit der Erforschung neuer Wahrnehmungsstrategien in der Malerei
und Zeichnung. Auf wissenschaftlicher Ebene wird meine Arbeit von Theorien der
weiterfuhrenden Psychophysik und Erkenntnissen der Neurowissenschaften uber
Wahrnehmungs- und Bewusstseinsprozesse beeinflusst. Die Grenzen der Wahrnehmung
mit der Frage von Wirklichkeit, Fantasie und Imagination sind wesentliche Bestandteile.
Das Erleben verschiedener Realitatsebenen in der Bildenden Kunst, wie sie z. B. auch bei
Bewusstseinsverschiebungen im Traum oder Rauschzustand erfahren werden konnen,
sowie die Intensivierung von Eindrucken durch provozierte Emotionen oder intrusive
Erinnerungen bilden den Kern meiner kunstlerischen Arbeit.


Toolbox opening hours: Wed–Sat 3–7 pm

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Exhibition view

Possessed – Simo Ripatti | Patrick Huber 28.7.–24.8.2024

Simo Ripatti (Fi) and Patrick Huber (Berlin) in Toolbox.

Opening: 26. 7. 2024, 7pm, you#re welcome!

Exhibition 28.7.–24.8.2024

Simo Ripatti
Possessed, 2023
Videoinstallation

The work describes observation based on memory and how continuous observation of new things affects the memory image reliability. The starting point is my thoughts on the contingencies of existence and events and how they meet one’s own understanding and thereby form a point of view. Formed through this the point of view also determines how the memory is colored and how long you can consider the memory reliable.
Perception is the basis for connecting to reality, but only comparing to memory, memory and perception questioning and conscious thinking form a reliable experience. In my opinion, it is in many ways the characteristic that defines the experience of this work.

Patrick Huber

Drawings and Objects

Patrick Huber: Füßeln – from the series “Techtelmechtel”wood, wax, approx 100 x 40 cm

Opening hours: Wed–Sat 3–7 pm

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Wales

Unearthing: Dadorchuddio 30.6.–20.7.2024

Artists from Wales and Berlin at Toolbox Finnish-German Art Space Berlin

Opening: 28.6.2024, 7pm

Exhibition 30.6.–20.7.2024

Artists:

Wales: Marja Bonada, Katie Cyfenw, Penny Hallas

Berlin: Susanne Ring

Opening hours: Wed–Sat 3–7 pm

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Yö Galerie Helsinki

Yö in Berlin 1.-22.6.2024

You are warmly welcome to our opening of Yö in BERLIN on Friday, 31 May 2024, 6–10pm.

address:
Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX, Koloniestraße 120,
13359 Berlin-Wedding, U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Yö ry Artists’ Association is an advocacy organization for professional artists from various
fields, primarily operating in Helsinki. YÖ in BERLIN is a group exhibition organized by Yö
ry, featuring works by its member artists. Yö has over 300 member artists and a gallery in
Helsinki on Lönnrotinkatu. The space is free for all exhibiting artists, not just members of the
association. At the core of Yö is its members’ desire to act. Yö ry is not merely an artist-run
gallery but a coalition of proactive and enthusiastic professionals from various fields. Yö is a
movement and community, whose large membership enables even the most ambitious initia-
tives to be realized.

YÖ IN BERLIN is the first exhibition exchange between Yö ry and Galerie Toolbox. The exhi-
bition is curated by Toolbox’s founding members together with Yö ry members Mia Makela
and Henriikka Pöllänen.

Yö’s exhibition at Galerie Toolbox includes video art, visual art, and a portfolio showcase,
where you can browse the works of Yö’s member artists on a screen. The video works and
portfolios were selected through an open call.

All the videos have been produced during 2020´s. The video works have been curated into 3
different screening programs. Remnants of the Wild presents videos exploring our partner-
ships to non-human world from Earth Forces, Mia Makela and Lau Rämö. Tapestry of Time
contains video works unraveling the echoes of past in the present time from Johanna Väisä-
nen, Hanna Råst, Joonas Jokiranta and Airbakers (Toivola & Wager).
Close Encounters presents a collection of videos focused on exploring intimacy through per-
formance art from Juhani Koivumäki, Kainulainen&Latva, Mari Hokkanen, Eoin O`Dowd,
To Kosie, Henttu&Nummi&Kin and Ginko Hsu.

The paintings and sculptures in the exhibition bring forth the diversity of materials. Isabel
Pathirane’s paintings are bound together by the strong use of color and expressiveness. Tuo-
mas Holst blurs the lines between painting and sculpture with works that are made from re-
cycled materials. Krista Blomqvist’s series “Creatures of the Night” consists of paintings on
copper, which evolve over time as the copper itself changes. The glass sculptures of Henriik-
ka Pöllänen and Kimmo Reinikka bring out different dimensions of glass as material.

Curatorial team consisted of Toolbox founding members Maija Helasvuo and Niina Räty in
collaboration with Yö Association board members Mia Mäkelä and Henriikka Pöllänen.

Opening program includes a performance from Tapani Pirog and an opening talk by Yö cura-
torial team. Some of the artists will be present. Artist meetings on Saturday 1. 6 from 16 until
20 at the gallery.

Tapani Pirog is a Helsinki-based ultramodernist and post-expressionist.

https://www.instagram.com/aetherblau/

www.pirog.fi

More information on the schedule will be available later on Yö’s and Toolbox’s websites.

https://www.yory.fi/fi/etusivu

Artwork: Johanna Väisänen


Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed