Berlin, May 18, 2021 – To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Villa Aurora, VATMH (Villa Aurora Thomas Mann House) presents the exhibition ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE, curated by Nana Bahlmann. The exhibition will show artistic depictions of physical and mental spaces of retreat in the context of isolation and contemplation. It will take place in the silent green Kulturquartier, in the vast underground hall of a former crematorium in Berlin’s Wedding neighborhood. The exhibition is generously supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the Berlin Senate Chancellery, the Friede Springer Foundation and a private patron. It will subsequently travel to LAXART in Hollywood.

ALL THE LONLELY PEOPLE exhibits existing pieces alongside seven new works conceived specifically for the exhibition by former Villa Aurora fellows and Los Angeles-based artists. The exhibition brings together representations of solitude, melancholy and longing in the context of the universal themes of reclusion and contemplation.

The condition of the hermit is familiar territory in art: distance is central to how artists position themselves in relation to the world. As a result of ongoing lockdowns in the past year, what was previously a largely self-imposed lifestyle practiced by a few, has become the experience of the population at large. This global situation shines a new light on a cultural and art historical topos and will be brought to life in the exhibition by artists, who will make the experience of isolation palpable. Using various mediums such as photography, video, sculpture, sound and installation, they will offer inspiring visualizations of the experiences of the recent past.

The LA-based architecture firm Johnston Marklee was invited to make an independent artistic contribution by creating the exhibition architecture that reflects the themes of the exhibition.

ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE

with Saâdane Afif, Vajiko Chachkhiani, Louisa Clement, Lauren Halsey, Johnston Marklee, Annika Kahrs, Susan Philipsz, Anri Sala, April Street, Thomas Struth, Kaari Upson, Andrea Zittel

Sept 25 – Oct 10 2021; silent green Kulturquartier, Gerichtstr. 35, 13347 Berlin

November 20 2021 – January 8 2022; LAXART, 7000 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90038

About Villa Aurora – In the 1940s and the 1950s, Marta and Lion Feuchtwanger's legendary Los Angeles home was an open house for artists and a refuge for those escaping Nazi persecution. Its residents went on to have a tremendous impact on cultural life on the West Coast of the United States. In 1995, Villa Aurora became an artist residency and since then has hosted over 350 artists, reclaiming its title as a place for international cultural encounters. There, artists are inspired by American culture and nature, by traces of exile, and by the artists living and working at Villa Aurora alongside them. Since 2017, Villa Aurora is affiliated with the Thomas Mann House. Every year, Villa Aurora awards grants and residencies to artists in the fields of visual arts, musical composition, film and literature, with a three-month stay in Los Angeles. Villa Aurora hosts a lively public program, at times also in collaboration with local partners. | www.vatmh.org

About silent green – silent green was established in 2013 as a project space, growing into a lively cultural campus hosting various institutions and creative initiatives. Situated in an iconic historical location, Crematorium Berlin-Wedding, silent green is a place where new, hybrid forms of cultural production are developed, connecting different artistic disciplines and expanding traditional boundaries. | www.silent-green.net