“…many viewers don’t even realize it is a mirror of their own personality or their direct environment, as many people walk through life with closed eyes.”

Our interview with Alex Duve, founder and director of DUVE Berlin
Interview by: Natalia Gonzalez Martin

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? How did DUVE start?

I grew up with art. My parents started collecting post war German art in the early 70’s. I think it was 1971 when my father bought his first canvas by German painter Raimer Jochims, who was the dean of the Städelschule in Frankfurt at the time.

But I really was convinced that I would work in the arts, since my studies in London and my internship at Sotheby’s. It was a great experience and I met some of the most amazing people during my time at Sotheby’s, like Cheyenne Westphal, Francis Outred or Matthew Carey Williams, who are still good friends of mine. It just didn’t happen that I directly entered the art world professionally. After university I worked in advertising in Hamburg for a few years. While doing that, I felt an even stronger desire to make a move into the art business.

During my 5 years in advertising, I took every single holiday day to travel to art fairs world wide, to make new contacts. I didn’t do any beach holiday during those 5 years. Only art. During that time I met my former gallery partner Birte Kleemann, who today is director at Michael Werner Gallery in NY. We opened duvekleemann in 2007, which today is DUVE Berlin.

What is your process of discovering new artists and the selection process?

There are so many different ways to spot new young talent. And so many factors in the selection process. I am in the gallery business for 12 years now and travel a lot. You meet new artists all the time and the people you interact with, also introduce you to many new positions. Communication is one of the important factors in spotting new talent. You have to listen to what people talk about. Artists, shows … where do interesting things happen. Also instagram became a major search tool. We live in times of steady and fast change and you have to be open to change. By now most of the artists have their personal instagram accounts and are more present and more active on the app than with their webpages. Instagram is such a convenient search and presentation tool for creative talent, as you can search, compare and find so many different positions. Looking at the selection process, there are also many factors that lead to the final choice. First of all I have to be 100% convinced. With the new direction of the gallery I became so independent and flexible, I only show, what I really love. But as DUVE Berlin is also a commercial gallery, I have to decide, if the position fits into the overall program and if my collectors would also like the position. After 12 years of the gallery, my clients know my taste and know that I have a certain direction or style that they like and that they like the gallery for.

The gallery has moved location a few times, how have the different spaces affected your approach to exhibiting?

The salon on Michaelkirchstrasse is the third location in 12 years. And it was the most radical change for the premises. At Gitschinerstrasse, where we where from 2012 to 2017, the gallery was a White Cube with 4 large white walls. After a while you start to struggle to find new interesting layouts for the shows. You only have those 4 walls. Now in my new location, I have many different walls. Smaller and bigger ones, red brick walls and white walls and a massive kitchen block in the middle of the space. For the openings, we remove all furniture and the space looks more like a traditional gallery, but after the opening, all furniture is brought back and visitors see the art in a living environment. Hanging in such a space is so much more fun. Not a challenge, but pure enjoyment, as you have so many more options. With every show you can play with the many different walls and you always find new ways to use the space. This is really fun! Much more than in a white cube. And also for those that visit the gallery during an exhibition the visit is a different experience. You see the art like in your own home.

In the past years, Art fairs have taken the lead in the art world, DUVE has participated in some of the most relevant ones – how has this affected the gallery’s exposure in the wider market?

I totally agree. Fairs are a very important tool, to reach your target group and to meet your target group. You don’t get the chance to reach so many people in such a short time in one space anywhere else. Well, instagram does it, but instagram is digital. Art Fairs are real. Art Fairs are so important, as so many people can see the works you exhibit in person. And this is the unbeatable advantage of the art fair to your gallery space. Once a collector has seen the work of a young artist in person, he can much better decide at a later point of time to acquire a work by that artist also online, because he knows how the artist works, at least in a broad range. Also at a fair you meet all your collectors bundled at one place. And not only collectors, but everybody from the business … this is very convenient and important especially when you work with young artists that are only at the beginning of their career and whose work style is not yet well know … you wanna see the surface!

You have a very specific approach to contemporary art which lays a strong emphasis on socio-political awareness, how do you see the contemporary role of art?

I mean there are so many different “roles“ of art. Politically driven art that opens a discourse for discussions, curated museum shows that teach the visitors art to make you think and question things. I also do believe in the role of pleasure. From the perspective of a collector, who lives with the art, I totally do understand that he or she wants to be surrounded with something that gives him/her pleasure and that they love. But the approach I take in my gallery program is a very contemporary one … the art I show is an image of our society. It is an illustration of the current trends in our society. Topics we deal with on a daily basis. And these themes can cover all socio-cultural practices. It is so contemporary that many viewers don’t even realize it is a mirror of their own personality or their direct environment, as many people walk through life with closed eyes.

What is a normal day of a contemporary gallerist?

I love normal days at the gallery! They are so rare! ;) Office day. Just sitting down and do mails. No, but what is a normal day? Seriously. Every day is different. That’s one of the reasons why I work in this business …. It’s so colorful. Think about this: as an art dealer you work with the most diverse groups of people. Collectors, who are mostly business people, artists, writers, curators … all totally different characters, with different backgrounds … one reason why a the job of an art dealer never gets boring. There are days, you do office work and only answer mails, but every other day is different. Studio Visits, meeting collectors, having collectors visiting the space …. It’s just totally divers.

What artwork have you seen recently that has resonated with you?

That’s a nice question that I can easily answer. It is not really recently, but some years ago. It’s Christian Marclay’s *The Clock*. I think no other artwork ever stayed in my head for so long as that installation. 24-hours long, the installation is a montage of thousands of film and television images of clocks, edited together, so they show the actual time. It is a thrilling journey through cinematic history as well as a functioning timepiece.

Is there anything new and exciting in the pipeline you would like to tell us about?

Wait for the upcoming show, opening November 15th with a brand new series of canvases by super talented Berlin based painter Danni Pantel. Another highlight for 2019!

duveberlin.com

@duveberlin

All images are courtesy of DUVE Berlin
Publish date: 24/10/19