Catherine Nichols

The fact that something can be learned about the nature of human beings from their products is the initial hypothesis of Oliver van den Berg, who has become known for his objects made on the basis of technical devices such as radar, flight recorders, and star projectors , writes Hilke Wagner. The resulting sculptures have a futuristic-technoid appearance and, reduced to their perfect surface, they are stripped of their function and returned to the prototypical model. Oliver van den Berg tends to use wood, the sculpting material par excellence, and it is in the contrast between material and function of the technological high-gloss models that he thus reduces the utopias of progress ad absurdum and simultaneously centers on the question of original and copy. This artistic appropriation, the reduction to aesthetic quality, offers the possibility of disinterested reflection, because every technical invention is simultaneously a projection of human dreams and inadequacies. As such, his work can be positioned within the cultural-historical tradition of man-machine analogies.

In thirteen chapters, the exhibition and the accompanying catalogue offer profound insight into the cosmopolitan thinking of Joseph Beuys, as manifested in his actions, which are presented in the form of video projections and photographs. For it is in this capacity—as an acting, speaking, and moving figure—that Beuys examined the central, radical idea of his expanded concept of art: "Every human being is an artist." The goal of his universalist approach was to renew society from the ground up. To this day, his influence can be felt in artistic and political discourses. In this exhibition, contemporary artists and representatives from various areas of society enter into a multilayered, transcultural dialogue with Beuys. From today’s perspective, they confirm, question, and expand upon his theses about the possibilities of a future conceived via art. With B-Town Warriors, Phyllida Barlow, Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stepanian, Fatou Bensouda, Huma Bhabha, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Angela Davis, Dusadee Huntrakul, Charles Foster, Nuria Güell, Donna Haraway, Raphael Hillebrand, Jenny Holzer, Michel Houellebecq, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Zoe Leonard, Goshka Macuga, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Milk Tea Alliance, William Pope. L, Tejal Shah, Vandana Shiva, Santiago Sierra, Patti Smith, Edward Snowdon, Christopher D. Stone, Suzanne Lacy, The Otolith Group, Thich Nhat Hanh, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai

A thorough, illustrated biography discussing the childhood, career, family, and election of Barack Obama, forty-fourth president of the United States. Includes a table of contents, time line, phonetic glossary, sources for further research, an index, and detailed captions and sidebars to aid in comprehension.

Martin Luther changed the world. He inspired and provoked people, and he moved them and repulsed them – but he left no one cold. The volume invites the reader to study Luther at close quarters, to accompany him in his existential search and to enquire into his lasting importance for the present and the future . By examining 95 precious objects this publication to accompany the exhibition follows in the footsteps of the young monk Luther along his route towards the Reformation. Who was the man wh o published his theses against the trade in indulgences despite being in mortal danger? Whatstates, events and circumstances prepared the ground for this epoch - making posting of the theses? The second part of the volume presents 95 people. From Johann Seba stian Bach to Bruce Nauman, from Sophie Scholl to Pier Paolo Pasolini: irrespective of creed or life philosophy, people all over the world make reference to the great reformer. That is perhaps the most interesting thing about Luther: that he has continued to move people for 500 years.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir is one of the world's most popular artists. He lived in Paris, France, during the Belle poque, and he loved to paint the beautiful and joyful side of life. Although he changed his style of painting in the late 1880s, Renoir is usually linked to Impressionism. He sold many portraits of wealthy people and their children, and toward the end of his life began to work in sculpture. Full-color paintings included in this stunning biography include Portrait of Lise, Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children, and The Luncheon of the Boating Party.