Owner of Neugeriemschneider in Berlin.
WHITEWALL: Could you please begin by just telling me a little bit about your gallery?
BURKHARD REIMSCHNEIDER: The gallery has been running for fifteen years. We began with artists such as Olafur Eliasson and Elizabeth Peyton. The gallery space was pretty small in the beginning, only about 5 meters. Along with the artists we have grown. At the moment there is a show of Wolfgang Tillmans up in the gallery in Berlin. We only represent around fourteen artists. We are more about the artists than the classical gallery might be.
WW: Tell me about how you designed the booth for the fair? How does the current installation represent what you have been doing at the gallery?
BR: We are showing all of the gallery’s major artists here, although the works are not necessarily the artist’s most recent work. We tried to have a very spare installation. We wanted to give each piece a lot of space. Everything has been installed around the central painting by Michel Majerus. He died in a plane crash in 2002, and so here we are honoring him. He was one of the most important painters of our generation.
WW: How has the fair been going for you?
BR: It has been good. Better than expected. We did not expect much. But we are also used to this, because when we started the gallery nobody was interested in what we were doing. The interest has grown now. There have been good conversations at this fair. If the art world goes back to the way it was, with the culture of speaking about art, then I will be very happy about this. Buyers have been more careful. But why should the art world not reflect the economy? There was too much of everything. There were too many bad galleries, too many bad critics, and too many artists. It is a good time to have it corrected. I remember how the art world was before, so it does not worry me as much.
WW: What will you be doing with the gallery in the upcoming year?
BR: We will stick to what we have been doing. Next year we will begin with an exhibition of Antje Makewski. And in February we will have an exhibition of Sharon Lockhart, who is currently having a show in Vienna. We will be doing what we are always doing. During the year will have four or five shows with the artists who we are now showing.
