What are you currently working on—and what do you find particularly stimulating or challenging about it?
Markus Summerer: At the moment we’re working on four very different exhibitions at the same time, from a show we’re curating with Lauren Coullard in Cologne, through to a mini-retrospective of the marvellous Martina Kügler on the occasion of her 80th birthday as part of Frankfurt Art Experience, and an ensemble of seven kinetic sculptures by David Medalla at Wilhelm Hallen. For Berlin Art Week we’re showing Eric Meier and Andrea Pichl, a presentation that has also been nominated for the VBKI-Preis Berliner Galerien. It feels a bit like a creative marathon, with each stop opening up a completely different world.
Klaus Voss: A temporary exhibition on Martina Kügler in Frankfurt, paying tribute to a very special artistic personality who—sadly, and like so many—went overlooked for far too long.
Do you have a daily ritual that gives you structure or inspiration?
M. S.: No fixed ritual, but reading helps, especially poetry.
K. V.: Getting up.
What kind of music do you listen to when you want to focus or reconnect with your creative process?
M. S.: I’ve somehow stayed hooked on Tinashe’s ›Amethyst Mixtape‹.
K. V.: Music is for music. When I’m working, it’s more of a distraction.
Has there been a book that fundamentally changed your perspective—and why would you recommend it?
M. S.: ›Texte zur Kunst‹
K. V.: ›Horns Ende‹ by Christoph Hein
Is there a work of art you would love to have in your home?
M. S.: A watercolour by John Singer Sargent.
Which exhibition venue in Berlin inspires you?
M. S.: Haus am Waldsee.
K. V.: Neue Nationalgalerie.
Is there an object that accompanies you and reflects a part of your identity?
M. S.: The car.
K. V.: My pocket-sized Ossi, an Ampelmännchen keyring.
What keeps you going, even in moments of doubt?
M. S.: The love of making exhibitions.
K. V.: Someone has to do it. And by that, I also mean making mistakes…
Which personality would you like to have a conversation with—and what would you talk about?
K. V.: Thomas Mann, and ›Death in Venice‹.
What do you look forward to when your working day comes to an end?
M. S.: Pizza and Prosecco.
K. V.: At the weekend, if there’s time, going out to our little rail station house in Brandenburg and walking the dogs across the fields. Or having an Aperol Spritz by the Engelbecken…