Wortbruch

the opening was a success. somehow the time between the last day of installation and the minute you enter into the opening really transforms the space. the people, the fancy outfits, the questions, the wine- they make the space bright. many people asked me if i changed the lighting in the space, or painted the walls, or changed the space in some other way, but i think having installation in a space that has only been lined with paintings is able to transform the space. there were few people that i didn't know at the opening, and its always nice to have the opportunity to meet new ones! I saw some people that i hadn't seen since the summer, including a resident artist who I just met briefly in July. Jillian and I met some friends at Madam Claude's afterwards, a French bar in Kreuzberg. Everything is upside-down there. literally.

Im pretty sure that im officially not fluent in any language anymore, as I have been bombarded with way too many at once. the other night at a Tapas restaurant, we struggled communicating in German and English until we realized that the servers all spoke Spanish. French also made an appearance and we finally had a quadlingual conversation.

Jillian and I finally made it to the Turkish baths today. We found it yesterday by asking bathhouse? and then badhaus? at Hamam, the bathhouse, there is a Finnish dry heat sauna, a hamam which is a tile room where you can pour cold or hot water on yourself, and an exit to sit in the snow if you wish. there were many more rooms that i didnt get to. you could stay there all day. we also finally got crepes today, which I had been craving.

I got to the gallery a few minutes late today, and I heard that woman was here and avidly wanted to see the show. I was told she would return at 4:00. She did, bearing 2 small tulip plants, "for a tiny glimpse of spring". she said she found the card for the show in Sibel cafe on Karl-Marx Allee, where Jillian's mom had coincidently left some cards. she was enamored by the card and decided that she must see the show. luckily she was driven enough to come back at 4, and shared with me her thoughts about the show. she spoke English well, but there was some frustration that made me wish I spoke German. she lives in Cologne most of the year and has an apartment in Prenzlauerberg for vacation, that she lends to artists staying in Berlin, and she has invited me to stay there while she is gone. she will send me a book about Herta Miller, and she would like to talk to me about buying a work. she also explained to me the Wortbruch (broken word) has the same meaning in German as the english phrase, "to brake your word." A different spin on the theme of this work.

Tonight we will meet my cousin Julia for a drink at a pay-what-you-wish Weinerei. This concept i don't think would work in any other city. Tomorrow is market day, so we will see which vendors brave the snow with their carts. Pictures to come soon.