Lena Braun
Lena Braun (born April 4, 1961 in Wuppertal ) is a German artist and author. In addition to unique prints, objects and collages , her work also includes installations , self-staging, journalistic and literary work such as the curation of art exhibitions and art events. In doing so, she mainly addresses the biographies of unorthodox stars and female outsiders across all genres .
life and work
Braun grew up in Hattingen an der Ruhr. At the age of 19 she began studying German , journalism and philosophy at the Free University . During her studies she designed clothes, worked as a model , wrote for university newspapers and made films with fellow students ( Die Innenmauer , My heart is Prince, but I am back in town ). She wrote her master's thesis in 1987 on Walter Serner's Die Tigin .
In 1988 Lena Braun opened her first project space, the Salon Bichette , together with Suse Eichinter in Kreuzberg , and founded a performance group of the same name . This was followed by the Schöneberger Galerie Loulou Lasard with its own ensemble together with Jens Pepper in 1989 and, after the fall of the Wall, the boudoir in Berlin-Mitte together with Suse Eichinger and Iris Schmied . Here the artist founded the Queen Barbie Lodge in 1993 in cooperation with Jörg Schlick and Bruno Brunnett Contemporary Fine Arts as a counterpart to the Lord Jim Lodge . From 1993 to 2009 Lena Braun published a total of 36 issues of the central organ of the Künstlerinnen-Lodge. Lena Braun received an invitation to MoMA PS1 in New York and a grant from the Berlin Senate for Culture to curate the interactive exhibition “Boudoir” in Exile on Broadway .
Braun also worked as a journalist at the same time, including for Radio 100 and the art department of the Prinz Berlin magazine . She published short stories and wrote books for theater and film, including (book / director) 1996 Der Hellblaue Engel (with Mari Cantu) for Arte / ZDF , the first film about heroes on the Internet in German-speaking countries, in which she also played the Spanish nun Ines de la Cruz played. In 1999 the book / production / co-direction (with Roger Jahnke) for Ellis Bierbar for 43 actors followed. The piece (revue) was performed in the Sage Club and SO 36 .
In the following year, the Jahnke / Braun directing team wrote The Queer Version of Nibelungen for 36 actors in the BKA tents, Unter den Linden, Berlin. Then came the call of a Jewish avant-garde director from South Africa. Braun played Iphigenie for Robyn Orlin in 2001/2002 at the Montpellier Dance Festival, the dance festival at the Hebbel Theater , Berlin and at the Theâtre de la Ville, Paris . In 2003/2004 Braun opened two performance bars in quick succession in the Wrangelkiez in Kreuzberg, where she presented her own performances, show formats and exhibitions. Braun presented her artistic work at various festivals: Festival of the Regions , Wels , Austria, Festival GOLD, Armut was yesterday, Forum Stadtpark , Graz , in the Berlin club culture (including Big Eden, SO 36, SchwuZ , Lido) and the cathedral zu Halberstadt, the Black Box Theater / Podium in Oslo and the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin .
Braun works across genres in the fields of visual and performing arts and in the medium of literature. As a performer and artist, Braun often stages famous women, among others. a. Djuna Barnes , Peggy Guggenheim, and Anita Berber to revive history and share their own take on female biographies. The photos taken during performances and photo shoots are the basis of her work as a visual artist.
Since 2007 Braun has curated interdisciplinary art events (including Kunstraum Kreuzberg / Bethanien , Galerie Neurotitan / Haus Schwarzenberg) and Intimere in her project rooms studioxxberlin and Galerie Su De Coucou in Berlin.
In 2013 Braun founded the art publisher EDITION FortyFour, where she publishes her three-volume homage to Djuna Barnes, Ladies Almanach / Nightshade / Tyler.
Solo exhibitions (selection)
- 2004 Exhibition and campaign “Guard for Belgrade”, a. a. at SO 36, Big Eden, Arena, Tacheles Berlin
- 2005 “Queen Barbies Valhöll”, exhibition / Walk-in and recorded installation, Sage Club, Berlin
- 2007 ZUCHTHHAUSKÖDER, exhibition and action, u. a. in the Black Box Theater / Podium, Oslo and in the Halberstadt Cathedral
- 2007 "The resurrection and incorporation of Angelika Kaufmann", exhibition and action in the Golden Lobster, Graz
- 2009 “Berlin is a woman” with Fin Pozner, Galerie Art and Champagne, Kurfürstendamm, Berlin
- 2010 retrospective "Who the fuck is Lena Braun", February 2010, Galerie Saloon Su de Coucou, Berlin
- 2012 Showcase of the unique prints 2007–2012, Galerii Fotografi Miasta Rzeszowa, Poland
- 2013 DIVAMANIA, together with Cornelius Perino, Reinraum, Düsseldorf
Film (selection)
- 1989 supporting role in Jörg Buttgereit's "Nekromantik 2"
- 1995–1996 "Der Hellblaue Engel", fiction film, script / director (with Mari Cantu), ARTE / ZDF
- 2004 Actress / interview partner for the Berlinale documentary "Gender X" by Julia Ostertag
- 2010 Participation in the MOVING BUILDINGS festival, art video "Hairspray II", P60, Amsterdam
Art projects (selection)
- 1988 Opening of the “Bichette” gallery, Berlin-Kreuzberg
- 1989 Opening of the “Loulou Lasard” salon, Berlin-Schöneberg
- 1992 Opening of the “Boudoir”, Berlin-Mitte
- 1993 Founding of the Queen Barbie Lodge as a counterpart to the Lord Jim Lodge von Kippenberger, Oehlen, Schlick with a double exhibition "Right Women / Right Men" with Jörg Schlick and Cosima von Bonin in the boudoir and at Bruno Brunnet, Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin
- 1994 curator of the accessible and recorded installation "Boudoir goes Exile" for 46 visual and performing artists with Phoebe Legere, Carolee Schneemann, Penny Arcade, John Kelly, Colette and others. a. - Scholarship from MoMa PSI Institute of contemporary art New York and Berlin Kultursenat
- 2003–2006 head of the Barbie Deinhoff's project space, Berlin
- 2005 WUNDER, action cycle funded by neighborhood management, EU action fund, Berlin
- 2006 Foundation of the Solaris Kunst-Förderverein Berlin eV
- 2006 opening of studioxxberlin, Berlin
- 2007 ART ON BORD, 22 artists in 10 showrooms with the support of the neighborhood management, EU action fund, Berlin
- 2008 curation of the exhibition LIKE HER with 9 artists, Haus Schwarzenberg / Galerie Neurotitan, Berlin
- 2008 curation of the exhibition ROTES HAUS with 28 visual and performing artists, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Berlin
- 2008 DAS FEST, funded by the Senate Department for Urban Development, Berlin
- 2009 EU project funding ALIEN IN MY SPACE by DG Education and Culture, Grundtvig learning partnerships
- 2009–2013 curation of the exhibitions in the gallery Salon Su De Coucou for the SOLARIS Kunst-Förderverein Berlin eV
- 2012–2014 EU project funding WORD by DG Education and Culture, Grundtvig learning partnerships
Publications and texts (selection)
- 1993–2009 publication of 36 Queen Barbie box booklets, counterparts for the Lord Jim box (Kippenberger / Oehlen / Schlick)
- 1993–1994 Publication of the magazine "Boudoir des Nous"
- 1994 Poets shine through the night, reading from the novel "Bibbi Nylon" in the Japanese tea house in Planten und Bloßen, an action by the PENG authors' group with the support of the Hamburg cultural authority and the district office in Mitte
- 1998 screenplay "Rat Tourism for Christmas" in the anthology Christmas and other catastrophes, Ullstein, Berlin ISBN 3-548-24493-9
- 2000 Short story "Recited by heart" in the anthology Herz und Untergang, minimaltrashart Verlag, Hamburg ISBN 3-8311-1100-6
- 2003 Interview protocol in minus visions by Ingo Biermann, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main ISBN 3-518-12327-0
- 2007 machine girl, surreal story in the magazine FIBER, Vienna
- 2007 KUPFER, short story, reading in the Literaturhaus, Vienna
- 2013 five-volume book series: Bibbi Nylon, Kiko Sol Random, Ladies Almanach, Nachtschatten, Tyler, EDITION FortyFour, Berlin
- 2013 Lena Brauns Ladies Almanach, EDITION FortyFour, Berlin ISBN 978-3-944-865-00-3
- 2013 Nightshade / Tyler, EDITION FortyFour, Berlin ISBN 978-3-944865-01-0
Web links
- Literature by and about Lena Braun in the catalog of the German National Library
- Lena Braun in the Internet Movie Database
- Website from Lena Braun
- Gallery Saloon Su de Coucou
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Braun, Lena |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German artist and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wuppertal |