The way I organize exhibitions emerged from my artistic practice, which was oriented towards contextualism and institutional critique in the late nineties. The boundaries between artistic and curatorial forms and gestures became blurred at some point. The projects for which I was responsible (often in a duo with Nikolaus Oberhuber) could be described as author exhibitions: Gestures of Disappearance (Leipzig 2002, Bergen and Krakow 2015), Participatory Minimalism (2009), Antirepresentationalism 1-3 (Berlin 2009/2010), Believers (Berlin 2012) and others. But also when I’m further in the background, for example at gallery exhibitions of individual KOW artists, I have to understand why an exhibition is necessary and where it might want to go, even if it doesn’t know that yet…
Exhibitions are an art in their own right and have to justify themselves anew each time. Some artists are outstanding exhibition makers. And sometimes I see things quite differently as a curator. Then forms and materials in the space can become the subject of real negotiation. Those are great moments. (Chto Delat, Time Capsule, 2015). Looking back, I have been involved in around 150 exhibitions so far, most of them projects by artists from the gallery in the KOW spaces.
KOW Berlin
In 2024, as the world continued to militarize and Berlin played a dubious role, we focused on the vulnerability inherent in human bodies and systems. Featuring works by Anna Boghiguian, Candice Breitz, CATPC, Alice Creischer, Chto Delat, Clegg & Guttmann, Heinrich Dunst, Anna Ehrenstein & Rebecca Pokua Korang, Sophia Eisenhut & Max Eulitz, León Ferrari, Peter Friedl, Sophie Gogl, Barbara Hammer, Ramon Haze, Hiwa K, Hudinilson Jr., Simon Lehner, Pınar Öğrenci, Mario Pfeifer, Dierk Schmidt, Michael E. Smith, Helena Uambembe, Franz Erhard Walther, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Tobias Zielony. Curated by Alexander Koch, Nikolaus Oberhuber, and Anna Wlach.
KOW Berlin
The exhibition was a response to the climate of accusatory labeling that has taken hold in German media and politics since documenta 15—an atmosphere that has increasingly threatened artistic and free expression in the country (and in many others), often resulting in censorship and defunding. Featuring works by Anna Boghiguian, Candice Breitz, Marco A. Castillo, Alice Creischer, Chto Delat, Heinrich Dunst, Anna Ehrenstein, Peter Friedl, Sophie Gogl, Clegg & Guttmann, Barbara Hammer, Hiwa K, Simon Lehner, Renzo Martens, Oswald Oberhuber, Mario Pfeifer, Santiago Sierra, Michael E. Smith, and Franz Erhard Walther. Curated by Alexander Koch
A meeting of two classics: Clegg & Guttmann and Franz Erhard Walther, curated by Nikolaus Oberhuber and Alexander Koch. A fantastic exhibition!
Urban policy in Berlin, neo-feudal transformation, institutionalized injustice. These issues are not being addressed for the first time in an exhibition at KOW. Featuring works by Alice Creischer, Dierk Schmidt, Michael E. Smith, Brandlhuber+, Larissa Fassler, Adelita Husni-Bey, Peng!, Andrea Pichl, Andreas Siekmann, Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca, Weekend & Plaste. Curated by Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber.
Fluentum Collection Berlin
On the invitation of Fluentum Collection Berlin Nikolaus Oberhuber and I developed this project, that listens to moving image artworks as much as it looks at them, focusing on their audible, sonic concepts and qualities. With Patty Chang, Frank Heath, Hiwa K, Adelita Husni-Bey, Sven Johne, Ferhat Ă–zgĂĽr, Stefan Panhans, Martin Skauen, Hito Steyerl, Vibeke Tandberg, Ignacio Uriarte, Katarina Zdjelar.
KOW Berlin
This exhibition came together spontaneously within just a few days as a response to the far-right escalation in Chemnitz. We are grateful to the participating artists for their immediate willingness to contribute. Featuring works by Alice Creischer, Henrike Naumann, Mario Pfeifer, Michael E. Smith, and Tobias Zielony. Curated by Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber
Especially during the 2010s, I contributed to the design of KOW’s art fair booths – a genre of its own.
KOW Berlin
Art from the storage – as Exhibition. With Chto Delat, Alice Creischer, Eugenio Dittborn, Heinrich Dunst, Barbara Hammer, Ramon Haze, Hiwa K, Renzo Martens, Chris Martin, Frédéric Moser & Philippe Schwinger, Mario Pfeifer, Dierk Schmidt, Tina Schulz, Michael E. Smith, Franz Erhard Walther, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Tobias Zielony, curated by Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber
Kunsthalle Bergen / Bunkier Sztuki Krakow
2015 produzierte die Kunsthalle Bergen eine exakte Rekonstruktion meiner Ausstellung “Gestures of Disappearance” von 2002. Ich hatte alle Daten noch auf alten DVDs, und so konnten wir diese Ausstellung, die seinerzeit in Leipzig nur wenig Publikum hatte, bis in kleinste Detail wiederbeleben. Ein weitere Fassung inszenierten wir später in Krakau. Mit Arthur Cravan, Lee Lozano, Bas Jan Ader, Chris Burden, kuratiert von Alexander Koch
KOW Berlin
After its first iteration at the Secession in Vienna, I suggested to Chto Delat that they present their exhibition Time Capsule in Berlin in a completely different form—something they generously allowed. For me, it was a rare and exhilarating moment to work so freely with this kind of “material.”
KOW Berlin
The collaboration with Arno Brandlhuber tackled the neoliberal transformation of the city—and led to the flooding of the exhibition space. The architect and urbanist Brandlhuber used his own building, in which KOW was a tenant, to renegotiate notions of ownership and property relations.
KOW Berlin
The exhibition was conceived at short notice in response to the cartoon controversy, which portrayed irrational belief systems as the sole domain of Muslims. In contrast, the project highlighted belief systems embedded within German and European society. Curated by Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber
KOW Berlin
This project marked the first time Barbara Hammer’s films were presented as artworks within an exhibition space, opening up a new field of reception for the U.S. pioneer of queer cinema. It was the beginning of a long-standing collaboration. Curated by Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber.
KOW Berlin
Cady Noland und Santiago Sierra gelten als zwei Schwergewichte, die Themen sozialer Gewalt frontal angegangen sind. Die US-Amerikanerin und der Spanier wurden jedoch nie zusammen gezeigt. Dank Leihgaben von Wilhelm Schürmann (Noland) wurde diese Ausstellung möglich. Kuratiert von Alexander Koch und Nikolaus Oberhuber
KOW Berlin
In 2010, Franz Erhard Walther had yet to receive the acclaim that would later establish him as a contemporary classic. Our exhibition provided an introduction to his entire body of work, starting with his earliest, partly unknown pieces from the late 1950s and continuing through to more recent works from the 2000s. We placed particular emphasis on the design of the exhibition display, which echoed Walther’s material minimalism. Curated by Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber.
Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig
Since 2007, I have been closely involved with the “New Patrons” in Germany and also in France. We conceived this exhibition to present exemplary projects from France, which were created in public and often rural spaces. Each room in the exhibition corresponded to a specific stage in the development of these projects. Featuring Studio Acconci, Steven Gontarsky, Tadashi Kawamata, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Alain SĂ©chas, Xavier Veilhan, RĂ©my Zaugg, curated by Alexander Koch, Ilina Koralova, and Barbara Steiner
KOW Berlin
The opening exhibition of our gallery KOW captured a historic moment. It looked at conceptual art from Leipzig during the second decade after reunification. Featuring Ramon Haze, Mario Pfeifer, Tina Schulz, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Tobias Zielony, Peggy Buth, Famed, Markus Dressen, Andreas Grahl, Henriette Grahnert, Eiko Grimmberg/Arthur Zalewski, Mark Hamilton, Ramon Haze, Oliver Kossack, Claudia Annette Maier, Ulrich Polster, Julius Popp, schau-vogel-schau (Marcel BĂĽhler, Alexander Koch), Julia Schmidt, Tilo Schulz, spector cut+paste, Christoph Weber, curated by Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber.
KOW Berlin
KOW’s first project focused on a single artwork—Walther’s Elfmeterbahn from 1963—and unfolded the visual-documentary history of its reception within the exhibition space. What becomes visible is a shift: starting from a very open and anarchistic understanding of the work, the perspective of its presentation gradually narrows and becomes more rigid. Concept and production: Alexander Koch and Nikolaus Oberhuber
Kunstraum B/2, Leipzig
Mit Peggy Buth, Chat, Bertram Haude, Evelyn Jahns, Stephanie Kiwitt, Hans-Christian Lotz, Thomas LĂĽer, Regine MĂĽller-Waldeck, Julius Popp, Michael Schade, Sascha Schniotalla, Tina Schulz, Andreas Schulze, Jens Volz, Christoph Weber, Clemens von Wedemeyer, Arthur Zalewski, kuratiert von Alexander Koch und Ulrike Kremeier
In 2003, Jocelyn Wolff invited me to co-found a gallery in Paris with him. At the time, I was hesitant about becoming a gallerist—I wanted to remain an independent curator. But we worked together. I curated the artistic program and developed the design and discourse—the identity—of the gallery.
Galerie der HGB Leipzig
Ein Kooperationsprojekt des /D/O/C/K Projektbereich mit Marion von Osten
Galerie der HGB Leipzig
Ein Kooperationsprojekt des /D/O/C/K Projektbereich mit Andreas Siekmann
Mit Carl Andre, Alice Creischer, Douglas Huebler, El Lissitzky, Marion von Osten, Martha Rosler, Wilhelm Rudolph, Ingo Vetter & Annette Weisser, Clemens von Wedemeyer et al., kuratiert von Beatrice von Bismarck, Alexander Koch, Andreas Siekmann
Galerie der HGB Leipzig
Diese Ausstellung war der Beginn einer jahrelangen Arbeit ĂĽber den “Ausstieg aus der Kunst”, die ich vor allem historisch und theoretisch betrieb. Sie war in methodisch wie thematisch ungewöhnlich – vor allem enthielt sie so gut wie keine “Werke”, bzw. Reproduktionen von solchen, die ich im Fotolabor oder auf Kopierern angefertigt hatte. Es war – absichtlich – eine Re/Konstruktion von größtenteils nicht vorhandenem Material, das als Erzählung arrangiert wurde. Nebenbei war die Ausstellung ein Beitrag zur Wiederentdeckung von Lee Lozano. Mit Arthur Cravan, Lee Lozano, Bas Jan Ader, Chris Burden. Till Gathmann trug als Grafiker und Typograf viel zur Form der Ausstellung bei.
Galerie im Parkhaus Berlin
This solo exhibition—part of a series of curatorial statements on the present—drew deeply from the toolbox of representational critique, with on-site production being highly performative. Featuring Arthur Zalewski and Jean-Luc Godard, Herbert Bayer, Catherine David, Beatrice von Bismarck, curated by Alexander Koch
Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig
For my first project in an institutional setting, I was primarily responsible for developing the discursive program and designed a corresponding timeline as a wall display. Featuring Frank Berger, Helmuth Berking, Nathan Coley, Waltraud Kokot, Martina Löw, Gitte Villesen, curated by Alexander Koch, Stefanie Sembill, and Tilo Schulz
Galerie Eigen+Art Leipzig
The first exhibition I curated was reviewed by Tim Sommer—now editor-in-chief of art magazine—in the Leipziger Volkszeitung under the headline: “Curator Alexander Koch’s Hanging Orgy Leads Nowhere.” Maybe he was right? As my exhibition text still shows, the focus was on curatorial transparency and a critique of autonomy. Featuring Antje Blumenstein, Marcel Bühler, Oliver Croy, Thomas Fißler, Achim Kobe, Karsten Konrad, Ute Lindner, Thomas Lüer, Barbara Steppe, Tilo Schulz, Ulrike Kremeier, curated by Alexander Koch
