MAY 2 – 6 / 12 – 20h
PICTOPLASMA
CHARACTER WALK
EXHIBITIONS
2018
17 ART VENUES &
PROJECT SPACES
IN BERLIN
FREE ENTRY
In a series of 17 exhibitions throughout central Berlin, more than 100 international artists present new original work – sculptures, paintings, art editions and multimedia installations – many of them for the first time in Germany.
Offering a surprising selection of affordable art, the exhibitions include surrealistic paintings from Mexico, internationally recognised character appeal from Finland, illustrations by ‘Trump’s most hated artist’ from the US, quirky animist ceramics from the UK, haunting child portraits from Chile, limited fine-art prints from Lithuania, immersive virtual wonder-worlds from Brasil, and a multitude of fresh, character-driven art, mixing pop culture with anthropomorphic spiritualism.
Printed Character Walk maps will be available for free at each participating venue to help you navigate between the exhibition, but as a start, the above online map version should hopefully be able to point you in the right direction…
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Verwalterhaus
Alter St.-Marien-St.-Nikolai-Friedhof
ag friedhofsmuseum berlin e.V.
Prenzlauer Allee 1
kulturkapellen.de
Ged Sia & Jogo (LT)
Deadly Seduction
‘Swollen plants and ponderous bodies overlie me. I’m stuck between soft and slippery surfaces. Clumsy creatures push and distort my malleable body. I can feel a warm breathing directly into my ear. Through an unbearable smell of sweat I can sense a faint aroma of blossom. My feet are slowly sinking into a viscous ground. I’m drowning in bliss.’ Filmmaker Ged Sia presents prints that convey his fascination with the aesthetics of the plant kingdom.
gedsia.com
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Verwalterhaus
Alter St.-Marien-St.-Nikolai-Friedhof
ag friedhofsmuseum berlin e.V.
Prenzlauer Allee 1
kulturkapellen.de
Victor Castillo (CHI)
Jungle Boogie
The Chilean artist presents a series of new paintings created especially for the festival. They explore the laws of the jungle and the age-old story of ‘man eats man.’ Inspired by vintage animation, Castillo’s paintings are like theatrical sketches of tragicomic scenarios. With cartoon-like figures foregrounded against classical landscapes, Castillo’s baroque lighting completes the dramatic effect of exposing lost innocence.
victor-castillo.com
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Verwalterhaus
Alter St.-Marien-St.-Nikolai-Friedhof
ag friedhofsmuseum berlin e.V.
Prenzlauer Allee 1
kulturkapellen.de
Moki (DE)
Swamp Land
‘How to find the right way in a world as complex and entangled as ours? The challenges of our time are overwhelming. It’s like navigating through a swamp—one false move and it sucks you up and swallows you in. And that is exactly what you wish for. Escape and disappearance.’ In her new comic novel, ‘Swamp Land,’ the artist Moki tries to picture this complexity, weaving stories into one other, both mysterious and visionary. This exhibition further explores the cosmos of ‘Swamp Land.’
mioke.de
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Bold Room Berlin
Torstraße 68
boldberlin.com
Moomin (FIN)
Moomins on the Riviera
Everyone knows the Moomins, a family of white and roundish trolls with large snouts created by the illustrator, writer, and artist Tove Jansson (1914-2001). Keeping the heritage and the original Moomin artwork alive, one of the latest projects has been the animation feature film ‘Moomins on the Riviera,’ created by Xavier Picard in 2014 and based on the comic strips by Tove and her younger brother Lars. This exhibition showcases original pencil drawings and scenes from the experimental animated family comedy.
moomin.com
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Instituto Cervantes
Rosenstraße 18/19
cervantes.de
Alberto Vázquez (ES)
Antifable
‘Antifable’ is an exhibition about the creative process of Alberto Vázquez, award-winning filmmaker. His comics lay the basis for the stories, which are further explored in the storyboarding and design process, eventually becoming animated films. The exhibition also brings us closer to understanding the animal protagonists and their very human feelings. They are characters in existential crisis that inhabit the worlds of fables, but from a contemporary viewpoint that dispenses with morals.
albertovazquez.net
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Instituto Cervantes
Rosenstraße 18/19
cervantes.de
Tartaruga Feliz (BRA)
Over the Cloud
‘Over the Cloud’ is an augmented reality experience created by Tartaruga Feliz, artistic researcher of VR as a social experiment, and Studio NEEEU. Use your phone to unravel a hidden dimension of reality and follow the character Pi on his journey of self-discovery, as he shifts from being lost in thought to conquering his inner world. Pi’s story allows us to travel through our own memories and reminds us that the path is always more interesting than the destination.
tartarugafeliz.com
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Collegium Hungaricum
Dorotheenstraße 12
hungaricum.de
Réka Bucsi (HU)
Retrospective
Réka Bucsi is an independent animation filmmaker with a soft spot for human-animal relationships and interstellar constellations. This retrospective features her Oscar-nominated graduation film ‘Symphony no. 42’—47 observations on the irrational connections between human beings and nature. ‘LOVE’ reflects on affection caused by an impact in a distant solar system. And ‘Solar Walk’ follows the journey of characters through space. As Reka says, ‘every action is only meaningful when something is truly created or when one is really taking care of someone else.’
rekabucsi.tumblr.com
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Neurotitan
Rosenthaler Straße 39, 2nd backyard
neurotitan.de
James Curran (UK)
Gifathon Live
For his Gifathons, motion graphic designer James Curran spends 30 days in a different city making a short looping animation each day based on his experiences during his stay, from strip clubs, to tacos and toilets. For this first Gifathon exhibition, all 90 animations made in New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo will be shown together along with a brand new mini-Gifathon on seven days spent in Berlin, created especially for Pictoplasma.
slimjimstudios.com
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Neurotitan
Rosenthaler Straße 39, 2nd backyard
neurotitan.de
Kévin Gemin (FR)
Expressions
‘Hello, my name is Kévin, but everyone around me prefers to call me Kéké! I’m a 2D animator and Illustrator and I love animals, which inspire me to create stories and short animated GIFs to share happiness and fun. I usually animate using the application Flipnote Studio on my Nintendo handheld gaming systems 3DS and DSi—which has enabled me to teach myself how to animate and play with the pixel effects.’
k-eke.tumblr.com
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Neurotitan
Rosenthaler Straße 39, 2nd backyard
neurotitan.de
Jim Stoten (UK)
My Important Drawings
Jim Stoten is an artist and illustrator living in Hastings. He produces work for a long list of clients and pushes his creative boundaries in personal projects, exploring painting, animation, collage, and music. The title of this exhibition is a witticism referring to a realization Jim once had: ‘There is no reason why my personal work should be seen as important to anyone except myself, due to the fact that I use it as a form of meditation and therapy.’ Come by to prove him wrong.
jim-stoten.com
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Neurotitan
Rosenthaler Straße 39, 2nd backyard
neurotitan.de
CACHETEJACK (ES)
Think Twice Before…
‘Concerning the actual world situation, action is required. Sit down and think. Be alert. Be aware. Shoulder your responsibility. You are a part of the cosmos. Don’t be surprised if the frisbee comes back to you.’ The Spanish illustrator duo presents a series of new gouache works on paper and silkscreen prints.
cachetejack.com
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Freedom
Gormannstr. 12 (basement)
Matt Jones (UK)
Lunartik Open Studio
Matt Jones is a multi-media artist renown for his collectible series of ‘Lunartik in a Cup of Tea.’ Pop along for an eye-full of designer vinyl art toys and a chance to meet Matt himself, the man behind the cup!
lunartik.com
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WHITECONCEPTS
Auguststr. 35
whiteconcepts.de
FACE OFF
Various Artists
With several trillion photos now in circulation, what do the endless selfies, profile pics and Face Swaps really say about our identities? In a challenge supported by Adobe’s Project 1324, Pictoplasma invited young emerging artists ages 18–24 to reveal their true self with a character selfie—a photographic self-portrait that lets their inner character shine. From more than 500 submissions, this exhibition presents a selection of 100 works in a portrait gallery and media installation, including the works of the five challenge winners, who were awarded with a special character design fellowship. The next challenge will be launched this May!
project1324.com/challenge/faceoff
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Kunsthaus Kule
Auguststraße 10
kunsthauskule.de
Benjamin Vedrenne /
GLKT (FR)
Playful Randomness
Benjamin Vedrenne’s work is all about digital experimentation in 3D visuals and interactivity. ‘Playful Randomness’ is a collection of interactive and vivid generative artworks: installations, digitally augmented paintings and a unique character generation experience that will let you interact and play with procedurally generated contents and behaviors. When randomness is used as the main part of the creative process, the unexpected meets the weird, bizarre, and surreal.
glkitty.com
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Fata Morgana
Torstr. 170
fatamorganagalerie.com
Pictoplasma Garage Sale
Various Artists
PICTO SALES: From the museum wall—straight to your living room! Over recent years, Pictoplasma’s tour through prestigious art institutions from Mexico to Paris has resulted in an impressive collection of high-quality fine art, character collectibles, and precious print editions. The time has come to free up some space! This is your once-in-a-lifetime wallet friendly chance to carry home exquisite XXL works by the likes of Kimiaki Yaegashi, El Grand Chamaco, Brosmind, Charles Huettner, Faiyaz Jafri, T Wei, and many many more… EVERYTHING MUST GO!
pictoplasma.com/archives/exhibition
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2 Agenten
Schröderstraße 3
2agenten.com
Charlotte Mei (UK)
Make Up
Charlotte Mei has a deliciously carefree approach to creating sculpture, paintings, and animation. With her bold and playful use of color, form, and gestural mark-making she creates landscapes and still lives, abstracted figures, human and animal characters through which she explores emotions and notions of truth. Here, Charlotte presents a body of paintings and ceramic works, which explore the stories and dreams we project onto reality to help us make sense of the world.
charlottemei.com
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Gallery pavlov’s dog
Bergstraße 19
pavlovsdog.org
Otros Yo Collective
Espectro
‘Human personality has a wide gamut of hues, imperceptible at first sight. By contrast, color makes a chromatic journey revealing what’s essential for our eyes.’ The exhibition features works by the collective of primarily Mexican and Guatemalan artists who participated in the Pictoplasma Academy MX in 2016.
otrosyo.com
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MFI—Ministerium für Illustration
Chausseestraße 110
mfi-berlin.de
Edel Rodriguez (USA)
Freedumb.
‘Freedumb.’ focuses on Edel Rodriguez’s recent political posters, graphics, paintings, and drawings about the current state of the United States. Recently called ‘America’s illustrator-in-chief’ by Fast Company and ‘Trump’s Most Hated Artist’ by the Hollywood Reporter, in his 24-year career Rodriguez has produced memorable and viral works for publications such as TIME, Der Spiegel, Newsweek, and The New York Times. This is his first show in Germany.
edelrodriguez.com
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Rainbow Unicorn
Anklamer Straße 50
rainbow-unicorn.com
Alex Norris (UK)
Oh No: A Webcomic Name Collection
Alex Norris is an award-winning webcomic creator, best known for the complicated meta-gags of ‘Dorris McComics’ and the relatable ‘Webcomic Name’. Fusing tragedy and comedy he reflects on the frustration of false expectations, human relationships, and the existential insignificance of everything we do. He is currently struggling to write a comic without an ‘oh no’ punchline. Alex will be presenting a selection of comics with commentaries and some original ‘Webcomic Name’ art.
webcomicname.com
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VOLUME
Brunnenstraße 22
volumeberlin.de
Smithe (MX)
Automat
Smithe started making graffiti at the age of 13 and expanded his practice to illustration, design, sculpture and music—although he is renowned for his large murals. His work is influenced by old Mexican comics, 1950s graphics, and sci-fi movies and makes frequent use of fragmentation as a surrealistic machine that reveals the elements that power his characters. This exhibition presents a selection of his recent paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
smitheone.tumblr.com
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imago fotokunst
Veteranenstraße 20
imago-fotokunst.de
Tiny Hand Collective
Tiny Creatures
‘There is life in the tiniest corners of the earth if you look for it. Among the grass and leaves, in the water and in the soil. Modest little creatures, in tiny universes of their own. Take a step back from your grand and busy life, shrink down and shake some tiny creature’s tiny hand. See the world from their point of view.’ The works presented have been created by character designers and illustrators from around the world.
tinyhandcollective.com
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KLUB7 CUBE
Veteranenstr. 14a
(on the corner of Fehrbelliner Str.)
KLUB7
All That Jazz
KLUB7 is an artist collective from Berlin and Halle. The six artists are known for their large-scale murals in public space. This year, they have created a collaborative painting on their private art cube in one of the cosiest spots in the streets of Berlin-Mitte.
klub7.de
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Urban Spree
Revaler Straße 99
urbanspree.com
Academy All Stars
The Pictoplasma Academy 2017 Alumni
In its fifth year, the annual Pictoplasma master class of character design and art brought together 40 postgraduates from 25 countries, and challenged them to develop their own character-driven projects under the devoted guidance of renowned illustrators, artists, animation filmmakers, and sculptors. The Academy All Stars group show presents their diverse talents and features sculptures, paintings, drawings, interactive installations, and a multitude of brave, new character worlds. The next master class is scheduled this coming September—deadline for application is July 17.
academy.pictoplasma.com/alumni
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