Art lover or not, there’s a stunning setting not far from Berlin, in Brandenburg, that you should experience with all your senses until August 25: the Wehrmuehle Museum, a rediscovered jewel in the heart of a nature reserve. Each summer, this magical place comes alive within a historic 60-acre, 14th-century weir site that attracts hundreds of people through its exhibitions, performances, and events. It’s a unique space where experimentation thrives, standing as a community-driven, artist-centered contemporary art and culture institution. Originally constructed as a weir to regulate the flow of the Finow River, Wehrmuehle was later transformed into a mill. In the early 20th century, the site was managed by the Jewish Muehsam family, who embellished the villa with its characteristic stucco facade and distinctive charm. By 2003, the Hecken family, in collaboration with Zanderroth Architekten, developed a concept that not only restored the historic site and its liberal spirit but also reimagined it as a home for international art practice.
Berlinde De Bruyckere, Wehrmuehle Museum; Photo Credit: Jack Hare
Under the leadership of Director Tjioe Meyer Hecken from July 6 to August 25, “Aura’s Present Decay” unfolds as both an exhibition and a summer program that reflects on the ephemeral nature of art, the fleeting moments now past, and the evolving aura that lingers only in memory. The Wehrmuehle Museum, which spans four distinct sites—The Museum, The Guesthouse, The Barn, and The Park—has been thoughtfully utilized to showcase works by over 25 artists across different mediums, from video works, photography, sculpture, olfactory artworks, and site-specific installations to performances and workshops. Featured artists include Ana Mendieta, Anna Talens, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Roman Signer, Wolfgang Tillmans, and others.
Marlon de Azambuja, Wehrmuehle Museum; Photo Credit: Jack Hare
Upon entering the main building, visitors are immediately greeted by the scent of an olfactory work titled “Non-place, 2024” by the duo Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė, which envelops the space through a diffuser mechanism, setting the sensory tone for the exhibition. Moving into the space, “The Broken Burned Kilometre (2024)” by Marlon de Azambuja comes into view: a trail of fire stretches across a wall horizontally, leading to burned candles that, though now extinguished, still leave behind a presence, no longer aflame, but preserved in the remnants of what was consumed. Thick black lines, winding and zigzagging across the wall, trace the charred paths of combustion, revealing the spread of flames and the scorched surfaces they left behind.
Ángela Jiménez Durán and Roman Signer, Wehrmuehle Museum; Photo Credit: Jack Hare
Further along, the exhibition features a video by Ana Mendieta, one of the most influential Cuban-American artists of the post–World War II era. In the same room, Ángela Jiménez Durán presents “Temporal Anomaly, VII (For Ana), 2024,” a piece inspired by Mendieta’s work that encapsulates a bodily presence emerging from the ground, suggesting an existence that transcends the ordinary. For this creation, Durán used sand sourced from the museum grounds, along with plants and insects that interacted with the soil, transforming it into a deep, murky greenish-blue hue reminiscent of the forest waters that surround the museum.
All the works, whether situated on the ground floor, upstairs, or within the garden, exist under the umbrella of spatiotemporal subjugation, bound by their own “aura,” an atmosphere that seems to envelop each piece. Philosopher Walter Benjamin described the “aura” as something that decays with changes in the medium of contemporary perception. The aura of natural objects, as opposed to historical ones, is, as Benjamin defines it, a “unique phenomenon of a distance, however close it may be.” According to this definition, the aura of each artwork is unique to the space it inhabits.
Anna Talens, Wehrmuehle Museum; Photo Credit: Jack Hare
This sense of transience and connection to the environment extends into other works, such as Anna Talens‘ “Stillleben, 2024,” an installation composed of fresh flowers that not only emit a scent but perhaps also trigger memories of weddings, parties, gifts, or funerals—situations where flowers play a significant symbolic role in life. As you move upstairs, the exploration of perception deepens with another powerful work by Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė. Their piece, “Censer, 2023,” a sculpture made from brushed aluminum with a nebulizing mechanism, engages with the idea of a double corporality—the physical body and another, more diffuse and fragmented form of existence. “Censer. RYXPER1126AE” is a synthetic recreation using technology that captures the molecules (headspace) of the scent from bodies involved in a past performance, attempting to transmit its sensual experience. It replicates various ingredients, including medicinal plants historically used by women for their curative properties and as natural contraceptives, reminding us of the importance of women’s ancestral knowledge of plants and care spaces.
Rubin Henkel and Niklas Bolten, Wehrmuehle Museum; Photo Credit: Jack Hare
This continuity between the tangible and the ethereal across the showcase reveals how each artist’s work interacts with the space, resonating with personal and collective memory, sensation, and history. Another compelling example of this connection to nature is “FERMATA NO. 2” by Rubin Henkel and Niklas Bolten, which fills the barn with a piano piece inspired by the biorhythms of flora, including frequencies that are not perceived by the human ear. The work is based on soundwaves generated by natural sources and vibrations from the surrounding environment in Biesenthal, such as various plant species, raising awareness about the extinction of these organisms and the silence that might follow. “Using musical harmonies, we imagine the organisms of the Biesenthal forest, creating a unique opportunity to communicate with nature,” say the artists. This sustainable project serves as a poignant reminder that we are one with nature, in constant communication, and it’s a connection we must not ignore.
Brad Downey’s Recreated Beds Installation and Performance by Josepha Merz, Wehrmuehle Museum Garden; Photo Credit: Jack Hare
This collective show is more than just the pieces it houses; it also leaves room for freedom, including site-specific interventions like Clementina Hosszufalussy‘s textile installation in the garden. Using a spontaneous approach, she describes her creation as raw and precious, delicate and strong, unfinished yet ready—using every kind of material and space, “climbing trees and adorning them like a cathedral. I found myself and my ground again,” states the artist.
Performance Soraya Schulthess and Annick Schadeck, Wehrmuehle Museum Garden; Photo Credit: Jack Hare
“Aura’s Present Decay” is not merely about the artworks within or surrounding the space; it is about engaging experiences and ephemeral performances that leave a lasting impression. The opening day’s performance, “Aura of Femininity in Art,” choreographed by Annick Schadeck with dancers from Staatsballett Berlin in the forest, or the Young Boy Dancing Group Performance at Offsite by Wehrmuehle* at Friedrichstraße 112 Berlin exemplify this impermanent state of art that might linger forever in our memory. The program has also included hands-on activities, such as Creative Writing with Stephanie Maier and a Blue Print Cyanotypes workshop with Anna Falck-Ytter, which actively engage the community, inviting participation from people of all ages.
Performance Young Boy Dancing Group, Offsite by Wehrmuehle; Photo Credit: Lilika Strezoska.
The finissage on August 24 will culminate in a grand Open Air Screening of Rutilant Revelation by Shira Kela and PENUMBRA by Julian Rosefeldt, followed by a DJ set in the museum garden and a closing party that will run late into the night—this might just be the unforgettable finale to an extraordinary summer program.
Text by Maria Nitulescu
Aura’s Present Decay curated by Felipe Schwager and Tjioe Meyer Hecken at the Wehrmuehle Museum – Art Biesenthal.
July 6 to August 25 at the Wehrmuehle Museum, Brandenburg.
For more information on the program visit their Website & follow the Wehrmuehle Instagram and Art Biesenthal Instagram for immediate updates.
* Offsite by Wehrmuehle, located at Friedrichstraße 112, Berlin, hosts hyper-contemporary art happenings. The space fosters a safe, community-driven, and artist-centered environment. As an extension of the Wehrmuehle Museum in Biesenthal, Offsite by Wehrmuehle is committed to showcasing the culture of this generation and the next.
