Group Exhibition with Agnes Lörincz, Alexander Steffen, Lorant Szathmary | Quartiersbüro Beusselstraße

“Soft Symbols” by Agnes Lörincz
The title of the series refers to a group of small-format works in which I used individual, found fabric remnants as the main motif. The shapes of these patterned textiles were not altered but instead glued onto a previously prepared ground. As a first step, crumpled pieces of fabric were pressed into fresh paint and then removed, creating an amorphous structure of folds. From the combination of both elements—the fabric imprint and the actual fabric—a sign-like image emerged, resembling a logo that develops its own enigmatic symbolism.

With his long-term project “Vanishing Berlin,” the city photographer Alexander Steffen draws attention to the fleeting landmarks of the districts of Moabit and Wedding. Neighborhood pubs, firewalls, traditional shops, vacant lots, workshops, ghost signs, and graffiti—places and traces of time that have guided us through local walks for decades and are now increasingly disappearing from the urban landscape: icons of everyday life.

Lorant Syzathmary presents photographs of icons from India in the exhibition. Religion plays a central role in everyday life in India, with people orienting their entire lives around religious principles. One striking feature of the urban landscape is the presence of cows, which are regarded as sacred beings. They can be encountered everywhere in the city and are seen as symbols of life, fertility, and care. Religious values influence not only personal rituals but also behavior in public space. This religiosity is clearly visible in the cityscape, and the freely roaming cows symbolize how religious beliefs shape daily life and culture in the country.

 

About the Artists

Agnes Lörincz is a painter, born in Székelykeresztúr, Transylvania (Romania). She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Cluj-Napoca and has lived in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1985, and in Berlin since 2008.

In search of the soul of Berlin, photographer Alexander Steffen has been documenting changes in urban space for more than 15 years. In Berlin, as in many cities, the effects of gentrification are becoming increasingly visible: small, family-run shops are disappearing, subcultural and neighborhood spaces are losing their freedom, and profit-driven large-scale construction projects are emerging on vacant land. Although the images revolve around the past, Vanishing Berlin is not a historical excursion but rather an exploration of the dynamics and pace of the present. Born in Berlin in 1967, he studied political science and has been associated with Verlag Dirk Nishen, Galerie transition, and the Berlinale. Since 2012, he has exhibited and published regularly.

Lorant Syzathmary is a photographer, born in Sächsisch-Regen (Transylvania, Romania). He studied philosophy, art history, and geography at the University of Stuttgart and has lived in Germany since 1980. He lives and works in Berlin.