Monira Al Qadiri exhibition to open Johann König’s new Munich gallery in a former power plant

Monira Qadiri: the first exhibition at König Bergson will feature the Berlin-based artist Courtesy of KÖNIG GALERIE
The Berlin art dealer Johann König is opening a new space next month in a former thermal power plant on the outskirts of Munich, the company’s third gallery in Germany and its fifth worldwide.
The former power plant, known as Bergson, has not operated since the early 1980s and fell into disrepair: the building was subsequently used for illegal raves and as an ice-skating rink. It reopened this month after extensive construction work to convert it into a cultural centre, hosting bars, restaurants, a beer-garden, a concert hall for classical and jazz, stand-up comedy and readings.
König Bergson, which will open in two stages, will be one of the largest commercial galleries for contemporary art in Germany, according to a press release from König Galerie. The first part, opening 7 May, is in the atrium and silo of the former power plant. With 25-metre-high ceilings, the atrium is ideally suited to installations and large-format works, the gallery says. The first exhibition will be devoted to Monira Al Qadiri, a Berlin-based artist who was born in Senegal and grew up in Kuwait.
“Unconventional spaces like the Bergson power plant inspire audiences and artists alike,” says König, whose flagship Berlin gallery is in a Brutalist former church, St Agnes. “Munich is also a city with a financially powerful collector community and a sense of culture. Past projects in Munich have always been a great success.”
In a second stage on 12 July, König is to open a new building extending over four floors with a total of 1600 sq. m. and a bookshop, the company said. The opening exhibition is a large group show.
Several König Galerie artists have been shown in Munich exhibition venues, the gallery said. The Pinakothek der Moderne mounted a retrospective of Karl Horst Hödicke in 2020, while Al Qadiri had a solo exhibition at Haus der Kunst that year and her work is at present on show at the Eres Foundation.

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