The Hills and Doubts of Franz Ackermann

A colorful new solo-exhibition titled Hügel und Zweifel (Hills and Doubts) by Franz Ackermann kicked off last week in celebration of Berlin's second annual Art Week. The Berlin-based artist, best known for his prismatic cartoonish abstractions, decked out 130 feet long, 30 feet high entrance hall of Berlinische Galerie with an expansive installation.

The towering walls of the museum are outfitted in colorful geometric shapes, adorned with Ackermann’s large panel paintings. While the murals on the wall depict a clean graphic quality, the paintings are induced with disruptive components, splashes of paint, or cut-out holes with photographs peeking through, disturbing the straight lines of Ackermann’s color planes.

"Like a panorama. A hilly landscape unfolds. The observer changes its position, but also reveals a tremendous wealth of detail." The artist explained of the installation. "The ideal-typical scene is interrupted by additions such as photographs from India and Tarlabasi, an Istanbul neighborhood that is soon to be demolished. They represent the doubts raised in the title of the exhibition."

Many of Ackermann's cartographic drawings have been created during his numerous travels. The paintings he creates are mental maps, subjective interpretations of spaces and places that are compressed and expanded in his works. The themes illustrated in the paintings range from Ackermann's interest in communicative changes, digital technologies, and power relations.

 Hills and Doubts will be showcased at Berlinische Galerie until February 3rd, 2014.

 Photography by Berlinische Galerie