The Long Afternoon of Art
Saturday, 15 February 2025, starting at 3 pm

ACTIVE TERRAIN N°1
Asef–Burckhardt
SHELTER–BONE
Love in Tough Times

It’s time again for the Long Afternoon of Art at the Kunstverein Göttingen. This time it is dedicated to the multimedia installations of the art duo and couple Asef-Burckhardt and offers plenty of time and opportunity to explore the complex of works in greater depth.
After an open dialogue tour of the exhibition with the curator Stephan Klee starting at 3 pm, we will meet at 5 pm for a panel discussion about the exhibition between Asef-Burckhardt and Elena Engelbrechter from the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. Stephan Klee will moderate the debate, which will be held in German. The trialogue follows the motto ‘Love in Tough Times’ and explores the duo’s experiences and insights on and with the Sea Ranch in Northern California. The dialogue will not only address the protective potential of architecture and landscape, but also the extent to which social relationships and affection could be another form of ‘shelter’ in a turbulent world. As is so often the case with our exhibition talks, the podium will be opened up to the audience and there will be an opportunity for joint discussion with the guests.
The late afternoon will end with a lively round of talks, with snacks and drinks provided. We look forward to seeing you there, which will be possible throughout the afternoon.

Sat 15 Feb 25, 3 – 7 pm
The Long Afternoon of Art: SHELTER-BONE
– 3 pm: Guided tour and talk – through the exhibition with curator Stephan Klee
– 5 pm: Panel discussion with Asef-Burckhardt and Elena Engelbrechter: Love in Tough Times
– 6 pm: Closure
The artists and the curator will be on-site the whole time, snacks and drinks will be served.

event images: Asef–Burckhardt SHELTER–BONE, 2023 – 2025, photo credits: Asef–Burckhardt, VG Bildkunst

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The residential and office buildings of the Sea Ranch in the north of San Francisco are integrated into the rugged cliffs of the Pacific. Strong, salt-soaked winds from the sea, rugged rocks in fine sand, and ancient redwood forests characterise the landscape here. The wooden buildings were largely developed and initiated by the landscape architect Lawrence Halprin and his wife, the choreographer Anna Halprin, in the 1960s in an ecologically avant-garde community of multi-professional collaborators. Since then, the settlement has continued to grow and still sets international standards for the interplay between architecture and nature – in other words, „protection” and „environment“. But what remains of the Halprins’ utopia at the time – „to live lightly on the land“ and the idealism of a sensitive approach to the environment for us today?

SHELTER-BONE, the current project by the artist couple Asef-Burckhardt, is based on extensive periods of research and work in this visionary settlement in Northern California and presents works created on-site and in Berlin. Against the acute backdrop of the global environmental crisis, new anthropological questions such as ‘What must architecture connect today?’ and ‘What must love achieve today?’ are raised and artistically re-explored in close relation to this real topography. Consisting of combined, multimedia works, the project is currently being actively expanded and further developed in order to be shown in changing settings at international exhibition venues. The Kunstverein is very pleased to be able to show this complex of works in Göttingen under the leitmotif: ‘What does shelter mean in our time?
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The annual programme 2025 of the Kunstverein Göttingen TERRA DIASPORA – ACTIVE TERRAINS is developed by curator Stephan Klee together with the participating artists. The duo Asef-Burckhardt will kick off the fresh year with an all–encompassing, sensory–appealing exhibition consisting of several installations, which takes the viewer directly into the beach forests of California, characterised by the forces of nature.
Kirstin Burckhardt (* Durban, South Africa) is an artist and psychotherapist who uses visual and performative means to explore the interactions and emotional bonds between people. Her work focuses on aspects of the body, gesture, touch, communication, and friendship. Mario Asef (* Córdoba, Argentina) is an artist and architect who focuses on the complex interactions in the ecological networks of diverse species in wild and urban nature supported by his distinctive expertise in visual–acoustic recording techniques. Together as the duo Asef-Burkhardt, they not only unfold The Sea Ranch as a multifaceted place of longing for a common artistic quest but also elevate this specific terrain to their guiding coordinates of a new form of dual action between affection and real urgency. With this lively fusion of artistic field research and a productive network of relationships, the Kunstverein Göttingen is taking the first step into the new exhibition year.

We would like to thank our sponsors: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur, Stadt Göttingen, Landschaftsverband Südniedersachsen e.V. und Sparkasse Göttingen