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At the moment they have a group show on, curated by one of their artists: James Clarkson. The show, called Apples and Pears, brings together works by Trisha Baga, Olga Balema, Cornelia Baltes, James Clarkson, Ann Cathrin November Høibo, Simon Dybbroe Møller, Aude Pariset Chadwick Rantanen and Anna Virnich that deal with the instability of material and the meanings we project onto everyday objects (laundry bags, a cabbage and an axe, for example). As with any good basket of apples and pears, the show is full of little surprises and this makes it a refreshing and energetic group show.

The day ends at Temporary Gallery, a space for contemporary art and research run since a year and a half by Regina Barunke. This evening curator Francesco Stocchi and artist Martijn Hendriks close the Impossible Show with an attempt at recomposing works from the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen that were burned down a 150 years ago in a massive fire.

Impossible Show is a traveling and growing archive of impossible projects, concepts, exhibitions and ideas. The Spanish art initiative RMS, La Asociación started this project in 2011 with Dora Garcia’s work, 100 impossible artworks, and takes different formats – from press releases to lectures and audio guides – with the aim of reflecting on the very act of exhibiting itself. Other participants of the Cologne edition of the Impossible Show include Peep-Hole, María Berríos, Lars Bang Larsen, Alex Farqharson, FormContent, Minhea Mircan, Huib van der Werf and many many more. Their upcoming show, Unitasking (tentatively), opens March 7 and is curated by François Piron.

The next day takes me to the Kölnischen Kunstverein, a classic German Verein established in 1839 and now under the new directorship of Moritz Wesseler, art critic and curator. In the six months since he started, he has worked with artists and critics such as Ceal Floyer, Jacob Kassay, Sean Snyder, Sven Lütticken and Lukas Moodyssons.

Currently on view is F.E.S.T.A., a solo show by Italian artist Pietro Roccasalva. The show comprises both older and recent works by Roccasalva and provides a cross section of the different areas in which the artist works: painting, film, animation, installation art. The space of the Kunstverein has been beautifully reconstructed and the limited selection of works (especially for such a large space) leaves room to breathe and stroll.

Before heading back, the interventions by American artist Oscar Tuazon at the Museum Ludwig, now without director since Philipp Kaiser resigned after only one year, are a must-see. Alone In An Empty Room is a true Tuazon exhibition combining three dimensional sculptures and architecture into situations that stretch the possibilities of a building and remind us of Land Art together and Minimal Art.

Scattered throughout the signature staircase of the Museum are el­e­ments from a house strewn about. These elements not only interact with the building but also with the Louise Lawler black and white drawings that cover most walls in the staircase with domestic scenes.

DREI
Apples and Pears, group show
Arndtstrasse 4
50676 Cologne
January 24 till March 8, 2014