Current exhibition “
: ‘SP A C E D OU T’” at Gut Kerkow:
After the City / Nach der Stadt

Group Exhibition at Gut Kerkow

The big city has always symbolized new beginnings, self-realization, and the freedom to reshape one’s own life. Especially for young people—and particularly those living in queer communities—moving to the city is often seen as a step toward a self-determined existence. In pop culture, this experience was captured, for example, in Bronski Beat’s famous 1984 anthem “Smalltown Boy”: The protagonist leaves the countryside to be himself in the big city. The French writer Édouard Louis also describes Paris in his autobiographical work as a place where a different, new self could emerge, beyond social and provincial origins.

Yet while such narratives often associate leaving the countryside with a radical biographical break, rural areas are once again gaining appeal today. Peace and quiet, proximity to nature, affordable housing, and new forms of remote work make life outside major cities appealing to many people—especially young families. At the same time, urbanization continues to advance. As a result, urban and rural areas are not merely in opposition to one another but are engaged in a constant exchange.

Against this backdrop, the group exhibition “After the City / Nach der Stadt” explores the multifaceted relationships between urban and rural environments. Featuring more than 50 works by 18 artists, it explores how identity, power, space, and nature are renegotiated when city and countryside are understood not as opposites but as permeable, interconnected systems.

A thematically fitting venue for this exploration is Gut Kerkow in the Uckermark region. Agriculture, regional production, tourism, and the proximity to the metropolis of Berlin highlight just how closely the city and the countryside are intertwined. The exhibition spans the estate’s grounds—including the manor house, the former granary, and the newly landscaped garden. On display are paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and videos. Selected Gut Kerkow locations in Berlin also serve as satellite extensions of the exhibition, making the connection between the metropolis and the countryside tangible in a spatial sense as well.

“After the City / Nach der Stadt” sends a message of connection rather than division in times of growing social polarization. The exhibition views the city and the countryside not as opposing worlds, but as different living spaces within an open and inclusive society. The title refers to real and imagined shifts between urban fatigue, a longing for the countryside, and the enduring appeal of urban life.

A visit to Gut Kerkow invites you to explore these areas of tension through art—and to gain a fresh perspective on the city, the countryside, and the spaces in between.