Thomas Behling

Thomas Behling: "Don't look back!" (detail), 2017, 141 x 166 x 43 cm

"It's A Balance Trick" – Contemporary Art between Equilibrium and Instability

The exhibition “It’s A Balance Trick” explores the fragile moment of equilibrium through a multidisciplinary approach. The act of balancing is examined across a broad artistic spectrum from social, physical and ecological perspectives, and is reflected in the fluid exhibition concept: Whilst some elements remain static, others gradually shift their position, extend into the urban space or are only made complete through the participation of the audience. 

Although the still moment of equilibrium is a symbol of tranquillity, it is based on the constant balancing of various forces. Sometimes equilibrium is achieved almost effortlessly; at other times, it is the result of coordination and dialogue. In a democratic society in particular, balance is regarded as an ideal. The organic approach of “It’s A Balance Trick” mimics this balancing act; it remains in motion, evolves, weighs up different forces and constantly creates new moments of equilibrium and coexistence.

The exhibition’s range of media – from installation and performance to painting – is complemented by participatory elements and accompanied by an extensive programme of workshops. The programme is an essential part of the exhibition and allows visitors to experience moments of instability, but also of balance, through writing, dancing, painting, planting or discussing.

Artists:
Thomas Behling, Anna Borgman, Wiebke Elzel, Catherine Rose Evans, Simon Faithfull, Tom Früchtl, Ya Wen Fu, Noa Heyne, Kennedy & Swan, Csilla Klenyánszki, Nadja Verena Marcin, Gabi Schillig, Natalia Stachon, Morten Straede, Sophia Pompéry 

Opening on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 at 6 pm
Exhibition from 28 May to 13 September 2026

Accompanying programme
Detailed information on the events can be found on the Kommunale Galerie website. Some events require advance registration.

Sunday, 31 May 2026, 3 pm to 5 pm
WORKSHOP – Migration and Wahlheymat (in English)

Saturday, 6 June 2026, 3 pm to 7 pm
WORKSHOP – #SOPHYGRAY

Saturday, 13 June 2026, 12 noon to 2 pm
Workshop – The Dance of Falling

Wednesday, 24 June 2026, 5.30 pm
Conversational tour with the exhibition’s curators and artists

Saturday, 27 June 2026, 11 am to 4 pm
Workshop – Courage Muscle Workshop

Thursday, 2 July 2026, 6 pm
CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE

Wednesday, 8 July 2026, 5 pm to 8 pm
Walk – Walk and Talk on forests and the Süntel beech

Tuesday to Thursday, 14–16 July 2026, 10 am to 1 pm
Summer Holiday Workshop – Wobbly Worlds

Wednesday, 2 September 2026, 5.30 pm
Interactive guided tour with the exhibition’s curators and artists

Sunday, 13 September, 3 pm to 5 pm
Closing event

Kommunale Galerie Berlin
Hohenzollerndamm 176
10713 Berlin
Germany

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm
Wednesday, 10 am to 7 pm
Saturday and Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm

Free admission

 

Auf Grund der COVID-19-Pandemie sind die anstehenden Ausstellungen im Kulturpalast Wedding international (Berlin), Kunstverein Friedberg und in der Galerie Eulenspiegel (Basel) abgesagt bzw. verschoben.
Allerdings ist zu erwarten, dass die Quarantänemaßnahmen für längere Zeit verhängt werden, als bis jetzt angekündigt.


Ohne die COVID-19-Pandemie auch nur im Geringsten verharmlosen zu wollen, entsteht der Eindruck, dass diese Pandemie als eine weit größere Bedrohung für die Menschheit wahrgenommen wird, als die Zerstörung unserer aller Lebensgrundlage: unseres Planeten. Denn nicht einmal der akut drohende Klimakollaps führte bisher zu auch nur annähern so drastischen Maßnahmen. In sofern erstaunt mich, welche Maßnahmen jetzt überraschend möglich sind, und hoffe sehr, dass der Kampf gegen viel größere Probleme bald mit mindestens genauso großer Ernsthaftigkeit geführt wird.Die Ausstellung zeigt 75 aktuelle Zeichnungen von internationalen und lokalen Künstlerinnen und Künstlern. Sie werden anonym sowie in Buchformaten zwischen A3 und A5 und in Gruppen zu je 25 Zeichnungen pro Monat präsentiert. Die Mehrzahl der Werke wurde den Beständen des Kunstprojekts “Anonyme Zeichner” der Berliner Künstlerin Anke Becker entliehen. Seit 2006 lädt Becker in öffentlichen Aufrufen ihre Kollegenschaft zur Weitergabe neuer Arbeiten auf. Aus diesen arrangiert sie Verkaufsinstallationen ohne Hierarchien, in denen die üblichen Regeln des Kunstmarkts ausgehebelt und ad absurdum geführt werden.

Die Ausstellung zeigt 75 aktuelle Zeichnungen von internationalen und lokalen Künstlerinnen und Künstlern. Sie werden anonym sowie in Buchformaten zwischen A3 und A5 und in Gruppen zu je 25 Zeichnungen pro Monat präsentiert. Die Mehrzahl der Werke wurde den Beständen des Kunstprojekts “Anonyme Zeichner” der Berliner Künstlerin Anke Becker entliehen. Seit 2006 lädt Becker in öffentlichen Aufrufen ihre Kollegenschaft zur Weitergabe neuer Arbeiten auf. Aus diesen arrangiert sie Verkaufsinstallationen ohne Hierarchien, in denen die üblichen Regeln des Kunstmarkts ausgehebelt und ad absurdum geführt werden.

Thomas Behling: "Nachspurbild" – "Exercise writing", 2025
Inscription: ‘I will not give up on my children's future.’

"Der Verlust der Bedeutungslosigkeit" – "The Loss of Insignificance"

The Saarländisches Künstlerhaus is exhibiting picture objects by Thomas Behling in Gallery 1.

One of the themes in his work is the climate crisis. Despite our knowledge, we find it difficult to change our behaviour, even though we are destroying our planet for ourselves. Our ingrained ways of thinking and acting are too deeply ingrained, no matter how absurd they may be. The imprints of history have a stronger and more lasting effect on us than we are often aware of – or would like to be. We are shaped by grand narratives that are often even more powerful than the material foundations of our existence. We find ourselves in what is arguably the most severe and fundamental cultural crisis in human history.
Thomas Behling sees his role as an artist as creating works that contribute to a reflection on this situation. To grasp the full extent of it, we need a perspective that gives us greater distance: he believes it is important, to this end, to view the present as a historical process even now and to broaden our intellectual horizons. What we do not retain in our memory and understand would have been lived in vain. Using supposed remnants of an earlier era, Thomas Behling guides us through the crises and conflict zones of the present. In his pictorial objects, he intertwines reality and illusion, thereby revealing something of how we create reality.

Opening on Wednesday, 2 September 2026 at 7.00 pm
Exhibition from 3 September to 25 October 2026

Saarländisches Künstlerhaus
Karlstr. 1
66111 Saarbrücken
Germany

open:
Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm
Free admission

Thomas Behling: "Vier romantisierende Betrachtungen zum Ende der Welt" – "Four romanticized contemplations on the end of the world", 2024, 113 x 72 x 49 cm

"signatures"

The Kunstverein Friedberg has been exhibiting contemporary art since 1976. Unencumbered by commercial or market-driven interests, the KVFB provides a platform for the realisation of artistic ideas in a way that neither galleries nor museums can offer. In doing so, it showcases not only well-known national and international artists but also emerging voices. The Kunstverein is celebrating its 50th anniversary alongside the opening of its new premises at the Wetterau Museum. Entitled ‘signatures’, the anniversary exhibition presents a wide range of artistic perspectives, showcasing the distinctive styles of those who have led and continue to lead the Kunstverein Friedberg over the past 50 years.

Participating artists:
Marina Abramović, Mojé Assefjah, Il-Jin Atem Choi, Thomas Bayrle, Felix Becker, Thomas Behling, Hannah Bohnen, Wolfgang Ellenrieder, Bernhard Jäger, K.O. Götz, Otto Greis, Christian Hanussek, Edda Jachens, MK Kaehne, Kinky Texas, Jürgen Paas, Andrea Pesendorfer, Julian Schnabel, Egon Schrick, Julius Stahl, Hans Steinbrenner, Jörg Strobel, Jan van Munster and Franz Erhard Walther

A highlight of the opening on Saturday, 12 September 2026, 6 pm, is a concert by the band TheArtOfFusion, a cross-genre music project that combines electronic sounds, world music and meditative rhythms, taking the audience on a journey into a unique universe of sound.  

Opening 12 September 2026 at 6 pm 
Duration: 12 September – 1 November 2026

KVFB - Kunstverein Friedberg
c/o Wetterau-Museum
Haagstraße 16
61169 Friedberg
Germany