
“Quirmbach has been designing books for contemporary artists and institutions since 1995, when as a student of communication design in Wuppertal, she produced her first catalogue for collaborative artists Walter Dahn and Philip Pocock. In Cologne in the 1990s and 2000s, Yvonne was met with the ideal conditions for an emerging designer—her proximity to the publisher and bookseller Walther König, the galleries Monika Sprüth and Daniel Buchholz, and the Museum Ludwig all contributed to her developing sensibility. Among this milieu she sparked early collaboration and friendship with artists such as Rosemarie Trockel, Matti Braun, Walter Dahn, Monika Baer, Cosima von Bonin, Manfred Pernice, and others, all of whom shaped her work and her methods of working.” Source
Together with Jörn Bötnagel she founded the gallery BQ: “Yvonne Quirmbach was still studying graphic design, and Jörn Bötnagel had just taken a job at Monika Sprüth’s gallery. In 1998, a small space—the porter’s lodge—became available in the rear courtyard of the Sprüth Gallery. It became the BQ project space. In 2000, BQ participated in their first art fair, Art Cologne. In 2002, they opened their first gallery space in a small store on Jülicher Strasse in Cologne. A year later, BQ was invited to take part in Art Basel. They used the opportunities that these fairs offered in their own unique way: as “large solo exhibitions.” After all, the booths often had more floor space than their gallery. The gallery has been situated in Berlin since 2009 and on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz since 2011.” Source
See the show here
Anna Roldán


User comment: “Auch wenn ich nicht weiss wer das Bild gemacht hat und ich auch keine Ausstellung gesehen habe, gefällt mir diese Karte besonders. Die Art, wie man aus nur ein paar wenigen Linien ein Werk erstellen kann, das so komplex, zugleich aber auch einfach ist, beeindruckt mich und regt mich zum Denken an. Wieso ist vieles auf der Welt so kompliziert, wenn man mit wenigen Punkten und Strichen so viel erzählen kann?” Sarina Wenger
Sean Landers


User comment: “The card caught my eye with it’s impassivity. The font is more appropriate for a gravestone. As I moved trough the exhibition, I saw the exact same card again but in a different place. I thought it was a double and went back to where I first saw the card but it was not there! Did I see the card before I actually saw it? Was it following me? Now I am totally creeped out.” Lisa di Donato
Bleta Jahaj


Bleta Jahaj
Mit Sound im Hintergrund
Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin




























A series of invitation cards (1998-2000) by the Berlin based gallery Contemporary Fine Arts (CFA), established in 1992 and run by Bruno Brunnet and Nicole Hackert. For about two years, CFA used individual handwriting (by the artists?) instead of a standardized font. As many of the new young galleries established in the mid to late nineties, CFA used their invitation cards to highlight individuality and as an innovative form of (self-)branding. Invitation cards could become an art project, and a space where art may happen – and is distributed worldwide for free. A similar strategy was adopted by other young up-and-coming galleries such as neugerriemschneider, Berlin (est. 1994), Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York (1994-2020), CFA Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin (est. 1992), The Modern Institute, Glasgow (est. 1997), or Eva Presenhuber (Galerie Walcheturm 1989-1998/Galerie Eva Presenhuber).
Art Resources Transfer


User Beitrag: “Das Projekt so simpel wie bestechend: Kusntbücher werden gesammelt, gespendet, gestiftet und über die Organisation ‘Art Resources Transfer‘ an Schulen und deren Bibliotheken weitergegeben – “in underserved communities nationwide”. Haben wir so etwas in der Schweiz? Was halten unsere Politiker von Kunst, wenn überhaupt?” Thomas Schlup
Brand-New-Life, a magazine


Brand-New-Life is a magazine for art criticism. The magazine offers polyphonic perspectives on contemporary art and its political and social contexts. Our goal is to encourage pointed and analytical comments about art. In Brand-New-Life artistic, journalistic and academic approaches complement each other and create a critical voice for Switzerland that takes up international debates.