ANNAS DIARIES

Anna's Diaries is a personal journal of studio visits, exhibitions, art fairs and conversations that unfold behind the scenes of contemporary art.

Through encounters with artists, curators and cultural spaces across different cities, these notes capture the ideas, moments and observations that rarely make it into an exhibition catalogue.

A glimpse into the people, places and stories that shape AK Galerie's journey.

Villa Grisebach
Adventures in Berlin
Beautiful atmosphere. I’d polish it like this:

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to the famous Villa Grisebach in the west of Berlin; an auction house specializing in 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century art, set inside an architect’s home from 1891.

The invitation came from my favourite lawyers ever: Leon van Lee and Berthold Schmidt-Thomé from DTB Kanzlei für Kunstrecht und Vermögen.

It is hard to explain, but these halls make you feel something. A history bigger and older than anything you have experienced. And still, it is not intimidating; rather, deeply touching and inspiring.
ICONIC

For Gallery Weekend this year, we truly went beyond.

Together with the German-American artist Izzy Weissgerber and the Maltese-British photographer Lorenzo Agius, we created a show that was genuinely iconic — and therefore, it was only fitting that it was named ICONIC.

Renting St. Elisabeth Church in Berlin-Mitte was the cherry on top of this extraordinary exhibition. The space, the atmosphere, and the energy made the show unforgettable.

After this, the question is: what are we going to do next year? Haha.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

Cleo and I were so excited to travel to Amsterdam for a studio visit and finally meet the artist Louis Chapeau in person.
Besides that, I always love coming back to this Dutch city. So many good memories and experiences are connected to Amsterdam for me. It has always felt warm, funny, and calming at the same time.
Back in the day, I would come here for techno festivals. Today, we visit artists in their studios — and honestly, that feels even more exciting than anything else.
But of course, not to be too boring, we also got a tattoo and ate a space cake that almost killed me. Haha. In the end, maybe not that cool after all.
DRESDEN, GERMANY

the Venice of Saxony, as they call it; and for good reason.

What a beautiful and elegant city, which makes it especially meaningful to return here for work. I have been coming to Dresden since I was a child; my parents used to work here, and still do. So every visit feels a little like coming home.

Now, we are presenting an entire show by our artist ( and my sister) Barbara Pecora at Kim Hotel Dresden. Across many floors and rooms, we are showing originals and prints, and both hotel guests and visitors have been loving the works.

A very special project in a very special city.
SHANGHAI, CHINA

One of my favourite cities ever!

I came here with the speed train from Beijing and, even if it’s only a couple hours to ride, you still enter a different world; a new world. It’s probably how I pictured the future as a kid.

Even though absolutely no one speaks a bloody word of English, you get along quite well! The city is very easy. There is the left side and the right side of the river, and you take the metro for everything, which is labeled with colours. “Idiotensicher”, a German would say.

The food was fantastic, since I am a huge dumbling fan, and the cigarettes are crazy strong so you kind of feel high all day, (haha). I had somehow ‘arrived’ in China and, now, I was even more curious about what Chongqing would be like.
Chongqing, CHINA

Chongqing, what can I say. By the time I arrived in the southern capital city, of the Chengdu region, I was mainly hungry.

I never thought I could miss ‘schwarzbrot’ that much. Thanks God, Nour Nouri from Pashmin Art was there. Someone I know, finally. We had a lot of work to do, which distracted me from my urge to, let’s say, not be professional at my job.

Eventually, Anna Van Den Hövel and her husband Felix arrived. I love these guys. I’ve never seen such a match. Fun was back on and Felix went to McDonalds with me. I was happy again.

The exhibition was a full success and all the tension and stress from the last weeks and months fell off like a dragon from the sky. Overall, I loved the trip and I always appreciate new experiences and such challenges. Probably wouldn’t do it again though.
Beijing, China

Arriving in the capital of China, I had such high expectations and at the same time did not know what to expect at all. The only familiar place Ive been to was “Good Friends” at Kantstraße, Berlin, I need to admit.

Beijing is one of the largest cities on this planet, and that is exactly how it feels. I felt very lost, but that emotion was combined with great excitement.

Overall, I shamefully have to confess, I am the worst culinary tourist ever. “What the Frontdoor is that”, I thought when being offered my first real Peking Duck ever. Furthermore, the great wall was impressive and I felt like a celebrity at the same time. (Hate that, haha..) Forbidden city was nice too, but extremely crowded. I started to get in the “China on-my-own flow” everyday a little more.
Venice, ITALY

November is an ideal time to visit one of Italy’s many scenic cities: Venice. Not only is the Biennalle on, but the atmosphere is a moody, fog-filled vista, with spots of rain yet still so warm. Surrounded by history and culture, it is difficult not to wonder about the many kinds of people over hundreds of years who have walked these petite streets.

For four days, I caught exhibitions, experienced an interactive opera or dive into the cuisine enthusiastically, but I did not get near enough.

I think I’ll have to go back, and fast.
Croatia

Driving from Venice to Croatia is as beautiful as it sounds. Off season in the south of Croatia it is definitely a little difficult to find places to eat on occasion, depending where you stay, but the roads are calm, winding and offer incredible views. Blue skies, faded mountains and green bursting through it all.

Galleries are not open on Mondays, but I caught a very beautiful little exhibition on Saturday 4th in a hidden church up some beautiful stairs in the town of Omiš. There, the photography of Goran Gizdavčić, with Trees as the main subject, caught my eye and my spirit, with wonderful texts beneath each piece.
Hamburg

Hamburg is always worth a journey, they say, and I agree. The weather also never disappoints here; It’s raining as usual.

I used to come here a lot when I was younger, but that’s a whole other chapter. This time I came to meet my dear friend and colleague, Nour Nouri, at his Pashmin Art Gallery. Nour has an exhibition tonight and I came earlier to discuss quite a lot from our agenda. First of all, we are going to China together in November to host the Hong Art Museum with a huge collective exhibition. As you can imagine, there is still plenty to discuss. Mainly because I haven’t been to China yet, and Nour is very well traveled in Asia. Furthermore, we reflected on some other artists who I am considering bringing to Bulgaria with me in December.
Sofia

It’s mid September and I just arrived in Bulgaria. It is all what I expected and at the same time nothing like it; I like it.

In Berlin we would probably call it a dark romanticism.

I came here to meet Kiril, a good friend of mine who I went to boarding school with. We had this crazy idea to make a collaboration, over lunch and a couple espresso martinis, a couple months ago. And here we are: “It is what it is”, Kiril always says.

Whenever I travel, I always try to be with locals in order to have the fullest experience. This time I was not only with a local but also seemingly with Bulgarias biggest fan. We had a great time. Not only did Kiril introduce me to many great people, like Denitsa from Vivacom Gallery, we also went to Zlatyu Boyadzhiev’s exhibition, who is one of the most famous artists of the country. After three days, many museums and gallery meetings, I went back to the airport with a happy heart, a promising collaboration and little Bulgarian hangover. All together, a wonderful trip.
Berlin Behrenstrasse 31
WHAT A ROLLERCOSTER?
If a couple years ago someone told me that’s where my life and this company would head to, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. Still, deep down wished it was true and you know what, it became true. A step closer to the art Olymp, in a personal path of course.

Our new location in Berlin Mitte, was definitely the game changer we needed and deserved. New location, new luck they say and they are right:)