Berlin
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For Leistenschneider, Berlin’s thriving art scene is in a league of its own, thanks to a plethora of “great galleries, museums, and artists living here.” What has excited her most of late are the swift developments taking place in the western part of thBerlin
For Leistenschneider, Berlin’s thriving art scene is in a league of its own, thanks to a plethora of “great galleries, museums, and artists living here.” What has excited her most of late are the swift developments taking place in the western part of the city, especially in and around Savignyplatz. “The scene is changing in regard to institutions, galleries, and project spaces,” the gallerist observes, noting that a second venue for her own Contemporary Fine Arts (CFA) is slated to make its debut in the upmarket neighborhood of Charlottenburg during Gallery Weekend. To begin a perfect weekend in Berlin, Leistenschneider says she would kick back with a cup of caffeinated joe at Markthalle Neun (Eisenbahnstrasse 42-43; markthalleneun.de), a farmers market in the Kreuzberg district, followed by a stroll through the adjacent, hip neighborhood of Neukölln to discover the “new designer shops and young galleries” there. Berlin holds many gastronomic wonders, too. To sate appetites, Leistenschneider suggests Restaurant Richard (Köpenicker Strasse 174; restaurant -richard.de) for tasty haute-German and French cuisine, or Horváth (Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44a; restaurant-horvath.de) for a sumptuous meal of classic Austrian fare. For fine dining by the Spree river, she suggests Grill Royal (Friedrichstrasse 105b; grillroyal.com). There is also Paris Bar (Kantstrasse 152; parisbar.net), a classic French bistro Leistenschneider says has been a sort of “living_room” for CFA for the past 25 years.A favorite pastime for Leistenschneider is to head to the Tiergarten and wander south out of the park and then along the historic Potsdamer Strasse, which has been rejuvenated as a cultural hot spot in recent years, with many contemporary art venues opening up. The allure of gallery hopping and visiting the “temporary project spaces in the old building flats” keeps Leistenschneider coming back to the neighborhood. Among her favorites here are Blain|Southern (Potsdamer Strasse 77-87; blainsouthern.com), Esther Schipper (Schöneberger Ufer 65; estherschipper.com), and Galerie Tanja Wagner (Pohlstrasse 64; tanjawagner.com). As international collectors and curators flock to Berlin for Gallery Weekend, Leistenschneider says she most anticipates seeing both old and new faces at the three-day event. She also looks forward to her gallery’s own shows. As one of the 54 participating galleries, CFA will be exhibiting works by the collaborative twin brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias as well as the fast-rising abstract painter Christian Rosa. Read more