The Magical Spirit Created by Uncertainty: “Genius Loci XIII” Exhibition at SETAREH Berlin
Berlin is one of those rare cities that manages to be reborn with its own unique rhythm every time it is declared throughout history to have “lost its artistic vitality” or to be “over.” Although recent budget cuts, closing independent venues, and turmoil in the city’s cultural fabric have reignited these debates, what keeps Berlin alive has never been institutional stability; rather, it has been its ability to turn uncertainty into fertile ground. To trace this exact spirit, we recently turned our gallery route to SETAREH’s Berlin location on Schöneberger Ufer.
Launched by SETAREH in Düsseldorf in 2013 and named after the Roman mythological concept of Genius Loci—meaning the protective spirit of a place—the exhibition series is hosted in the German capital for the first time in its 13th edition. Marking the curatorial debut of Berlin-based artist Allistair Walter, “Genius Loci XIII” brings together 13 rising names from the young Berlin art scene, carrying the city’s fluid and indefinable atmosphere onto the gallery walls.
Berlin Is Not a Subject, But a Condition
Curator Allistair Walter’s exhibition concept offers a genuinely intimate and sharp reading of Berlin. As Walter notes, Berlin in this exhibition is not merely a “subject” or an aesthetic backdrop; it is a fundamental “condition” under which the artworks exist. From the first generation that converted abandoned factories into studios during the reunification years to today, the city’s greatest resource has never been permanence; rather, it has been the freedom to invent new forms amidst change and uncertainty.
Wandering among the works of the 13 featured artists (Vasil Berela, Johannes Bosisio, Jascha Froh, Lisa Götze, Lara Koch, Merlin Luczynski, Anja Rausch, Richard Roberts, Alec Ross, Alex See, Julian Simon, Jill Winnie, and Marco Żebrowski), we felt this shared sensitivity to our very bones. Instead of offering ready-made answers, the works raise questions about time, memory, materiality, and perception. Almost all the works embody a state of “suspension”: atmospheres swinging between presence and absence, completion and process, certainty and ambiguity, leaving a broad space of interpretation for the viewer…
Capturing the Spirit of a Place Together
As you wander among the artists and the works in the space, you realize that a city’s spirit is never something fixed and frozen; rather, it is born momentarily through the combination of the people temporarily inhabiting it, encounters, and artistic creation. Gathering at the same time and place, this generation embraces uncertainty not as a crisis, but as an open possibility from which new artistic languages can emerge.
Rather than spouting cliché slogans about the city, SETAREH’s first Genius Loci gathering in Berlin makes a modest yet immensely powerful contribution to those endless dialogues and pursuits that keep Berlin alive. Experiencing this spirit of transformation—stretching the boundaries of art and space—on-site felt thoroughly rejuvenating for us.
Exhibition: Genius Loci XIII
Curator: Allistair Walter
Date: Until 13 September 2026
Venue: SETAREH Berlin (Schöneberger Ufer 71, 10785 Berlin)
Artists: Vasil Berela, Johannes Bosisio, Jascha Froh, Lisa Götze, Lara Koch, Merlin Luczynski, Anja Rausch, Richard Roberts, Alec Ross, Alex See, Julian Simon, Jill Winnie, Marco Żebrowski
