As part of Berlin Art Week 2024, Fluentum presents THEATER, a solo exhibition by the duo Calla Henkel and Max Pitegoff that explores the radical changes in performance today. THEATER marks the beginning of their new episodic film of the same name, the first three episodes of which were commissioned by Fluentum and will premiere there in September. The exhibition begins on September 12 and runs until December 14, 2024.
Image above: Max Pitegoff and Calla Henkel at the New Theater Hollywood, Photo: The Cobrasnake
The setting and location for Henkel and Pitegoff’s new film is the New Theater Hollywood, which the two have been running in Los Angeles since January 2024. In THEATER, fiction and documentation of the performances that take place there merge: the footage of rehearsals at the New Theater Hollywood forms the basis for a story about the character Kennedy, played by filmmaker Leilah Weinraub, who buys a theater with her pain and suffering money after a car accident. In the first three episodes of the film, produced by Fluentum, Kennedy moves into the theater and tries to put together an ensemble there. In her desire for community, she is confronted with the cult-like power it takes to keep a group together, as well as the resolute hope of a better life through fame. In the process, Kennedy is haunted by strikes, ghosts, exploitation and the madness of living amidst other people’s ambitions
For the exhibition at Fluentum, Henkel and Pitegoff are linking up with their former adopted home of Berlin: The ongoing photo series Casts (2018-) connects past and current projects as well as old and new (artist) colleagues. THEATER follows on from their last film Paradise (2020-2022), which was shot over three years in the duo’s TV bar in Berlin-Schöneberg. Both films thrive on the unpredictable energies of these spaces and the people in them. Lived experiences guide the narratives of the films while posing larger questions about documentation, the performance of work and collective memory. Shot on 16mm film and narrated via subtitles, THEATER also moves between long poem and photography, accompanied by a composition by MK Velsorf. THEATER will continue in the form of episodes for as long as the New Theater Hollywood exists.
Curated by Dennis Brzek and Junia Thiede.
WHEN?
Opening: Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 6 – 10 pm
Exhibition dates: Thursday, September 12 – Saturday, December 14, 2024
Opening hours: Thursday – Sunday, 11 am – 6 pm
WHERE?
Fluentum
Clayalle 174
14195 Berlin
COSTS?
Free admission
