Bärenzwinger: Weirder, Taller, Uglier, Louder – Feral Possible, around Karl-Marx-Straße and Carrer Cobalt
Ran Zhang, Lolo & Sosaku
19 February – 10 May 2026
Beyond the botanical, weeds depict, without fully assimilating, a series of presences that disobey or do not fully conform to the norm. With an attentive and curious eye, it is easy to notice that these irreverent presences are not the exception but something very common and necessary. And, at the same time, weeds must be weeds. Trying to understand them or make them excessively useful is a way of controlling them.
Weirder, Taller, Uglier, Louder – Feral Possible, around Karl-Marx-Straße and Carrer Cobalt is the third exhibition in the overall project Louder, Taller, Uglier, Weirder – Learning from Weeds. For this stage at Bärenzwinger, we wanted to let new works take root. We therefore invited artist Ran Zhang to initiate a collaboration with another artist to develop a weedy environment within a space with a very particular history of control and domination. Bärenzwinger is now an art institution, but it was once a bear pit. Both situations are similar in how they share physical and visual control regimes.
Ran Zhang invited artist duo Lolo & Sosaku, also bringing together two very different places: Berlin and Barcelona. In each of these places, weeds are noticeable in different ways. While in Berlin they are tangible and visible on the streets, in Barcelona it is part of a common way of being. The weeds that interest Ran Zhang most are not plants, but objects seemingly lost in the city. They create tender, comical, sad or even elegant scenes in Neukölln. They also reflect the moods of the city and its people. Barcelona’s weeds are not visible at first glance. You have to look for them and get in touch. In their studio, Lolo & Sosaku play with many things to give them a life that they supposedly do not have. Finding common ground, this collaboration between Ran Zhang and Lolo & Sosaku aims to grow in a humble and playful way on the walls and corners of Bärenzwinger.
This exhibition also invites us to trust in surprise and detours. Between accident and permanence, weeds are a form of attention and distraction… and state of mind to inhabit for a while.
The shadow intervention by Anaïs Senli in collaboration with Eduardo da Conceição, which began at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, continues at Bärenzwinger as the undefined presence it aims to be.
Louder, Taller, Uglier, Weirder – Learning from Weeds is a curatorial project consisting of four exhibitions and a series of events we call sprouts, which appear as we grow and move forward. The project began at Xanadu in Neukölln, followed by the first exhibition at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien in autumn 2025. It now continues at Bärenzwinger, alongside the almost parallel exhibition at Galerie im Turm in Friedrichshain, and ahead of the summer exhibition at Galerie im Körnerpark in Neukölln. Further sprouts appear across the city over the course of the project.
Bärenzwinger
Im Köllnischen Park
Rungestr. 30, 10179 Berlin
Galerie im Körnerpark
27 June – 7 October 2026
Galerie im Körnerpark
Schierker Straße 8
12051 Berlin
With works by Ana María Millán, Anaïs Senli, Ella C Bernard, Kamal Aljafari, Martins Kohout, Nooshin Askari, Xenia Bond, Zuzanna Czebatul
Bärenzwinger
19 February – 10 May 2026
Bärenzwinger
Im Köllnischen Park
10179 Berlin
With Ran Zhang and Lolo & Sosaku
Galerie Im Turm
11 February – 15 March 2026
Galerie im Turm
Frankfurter Tor 1
10243 Berlin
Screening programme with video works by Crystal Z Campbell, Ellinor Aurora Aasgaard & Zayne Armstrong, John Smith, Laura Nitsch, Marta Popivoda.
With a shadow intervention from Anaïs Senli & Eduardo da Conceição.
Kunstraum Bethanien/Kreuzberg
18 October 2025 – 11 January 2026
Kunstraum Bethanien/KreuzbergMariannenplatz 2
10997 Berlin