| 01.05. - 03.05.2026 | | Ausstellung | Performance | Krisel Kollektiv |

In the organizer's words:

Foundation & naming

The five artists recognized the potential of collaborative work while studying fine arts at the University of the Arts (HKS) in Ottersberg. Stefanie Heinrich and Marten Blatt began planning an exhibition in Finland in November 2024 due to their personal proximity to the country. Gretha Boenisch, Tamino Dathe and Vaira Janz join them at the beginning of 2025. Vaira Janz even has a family connection to Finland. In January 2025, the decision is made to found the collective.

Against the backdrop of the current global political situation, climate change and individual challenges, everyone shares the view that the crisis is omnipresent. Whether political upheaval, acts of war in Europe and other parts of the world, ecological catastrophes or personal health or professional disruptions: there is a "crisis" in many places. Thus, the crisis becomes the program of the collective and is also called "Krisel Kollektiv".

Artistic concept

Since its foundation, the Krisel Kollektiv has dedicated itself to experiencing and dealing with crises - both individually and socially. The artistic exploration takes place in various media: painting, installation, performance, film, photography and digital media. Different skills and interdisciplinary professional experience are incorporated, different perspectives are intertwined and make the collaboration within the collective productive and distinctive. Together, the Krisel Kollektiv creates a space in which ideas grow, perspectives meet and boundaries are crossed. At the same time, it is the space in which the collective confronts the crises of a group: Task allocations, deadline pressure, acquiring funding, applying for open calls and much more are experienced by the Krisel members in a constantly changing group process. The now joking question "Well, are you in crisis again?" is answered with "Yes, as always - again and again...".
A clear differentiation is important to the collective: the group's internal crises are not in competition with the global, existentially threatening humanitarian and ecological catastrophes. Instead, the focus is on the artistically explored microcosm of a group: How do conflicts arise? What dynamics develop? Accepting the crisis as a "normal state" of cooperation and transforming it into artistic productivity is one of the central tasks of the collective, as is a critical examination of the process of creating art itself. In this way, the cosmos of a group is artistically explored, questioned and, building on this, artistic positions are developed that can be suitable for entering into discourse with the collective.

In joint workshop days, artistic ideas are discussed, debated and implemented, resulting in collective works (e.g. painting without sweetness but preservatives, 2025; video meal, 2025). In addition, works are also created that respond directly to works by other collective members (e.g. Painting by Marten Blatt New(s)- Jenga of life by Vaira Janz - Furby by Stefanie Heinrich):
"Homer, stop, I know it's easy for your mind to wander ...", says Marge to Homer Simpson in the movie "The Simpsons". The monkey can then be seen in Homer's head, banging bells together and jumping in the air. For Marten Blatt, this scene is a pop-cultural symbol of confusion and excessive demands, a reflection of today's society, which is plagued by constant bad news and a crisis-filled world. This little monkey is transferred to the painting entitled New(s), where it enters into a dialogue with the expressive color space, the "NEW" and a unicorn, which remains hidden and almost disappears into the background.
Vaira Janz responds to this with the work Jenga of life: discriminatory statements can be found on the building blocks of the wobbly tower, referring to the vulnerability of the individual and the fragility of social structures.
The work Furby by Stefanie also refers to Martens Blatt's work New(s): The figures attempt to interact with each other as well as with the monkey. However, this communication fails due to different "language barriers". The work Furby thus symbolizes the attempt to communicate on a non-verbal and verbal level, which cannot be guaranteed either through loudness or conspicuous behaviour and is doomed to failure.