The weekend in Munich during the 2025 edition of VARIOUS OTHERS felt like a mix of carefully planned moments and spontaneous ones. As the platform continues to position Munich in conversation with the international contemporary art scene, it manages to retain a sense of local intimacy—especially through the almost 24-hour event at Bayerischer Hof.
As the legend goes, pop star Michael Jackson’s favorite hotel in Munich was busy day and night with exhibitions in lounges and rooms—even the conference space traditionally used for the Munich Security Conference was occupied by the VARIOUS OTHERS Special Exhibition, showcasing works by Hannah Levy, Cindy Schermann, and others. There was barely a moment without a performance taking place. The hotel became a charged space where panel talks, DJ sets, and karaoke sessions happened simultaneously across different floors. The night we spent there was full of excitement and discovery.
This year’s edition once again brought together local galleries and institutions with international project spaces, encouraging genuine dialogues across geographies, media, and generations. From small project spaces tucked into quiet courtyards to grand white-cube galleries, the city became a stage for artists and their voices. The works of emerging artists stood side by side with those of more established names.
We started with max goelitz. The group exhibition „entangled, all at once“, featuring works by Julius von Bismarck, Anne Duk Hee Jordan, and Haroon Mirza, explores processes of transformation and the interplay between humans and their environment.
Sperling opened the doors of their newly renovated location and presented Pequod Co. from Mexico City, with works by Berlin-based artist Malte Zenses. Artist Malte Zenses created the exhibited pieces both during and after his residency in Mexico City. The exhibition title Durchhalten Galore! Pinturas para Perros carried both playfulness and depth.
The Munich venue of Gallery Jahn und Jahn presented Still Life, a solo show by Remi Ajani. Flowers and pole dancers appeared as motifs in the British artist’s paintings, where color and tone created an atmosphere charged with emotion, partly rooted in the experience of grief. The works were guided by themes of stillness and life in a broad context. In the adjacent space, the Gallery was hosting Peter Freeman, Inc. (New York/Paris) with the group exhibition Knowing Each Other.
We found ourselves for the first time at Gallery Deborah Schamoni, where FOXY PARK—a garden project with sculptures by Judith Hopf, Jonas Monka, Nils Norman, and Nicole Wermers—was on display. The rooms on the ground and first floors of the space were occupied with the works of Maria VMier, strongly expressing performativity and bodily aspects in the artist’s process and the ways she offers spectatorship.
The spirit of VARIOUS OTHERS was alive: not just in the act of showcasing works, but in creating moments of in-betweenness—between local and global, finished and fragmentary, object and narrative.
VARIOUS OTHERS
May 8-18, 2025
www.variousothers.com
Filter powered by VARIOUS OTHERS is the online calendar for all contemporary art events in Munich. Here you can find all events: www.filter-munich.com
VARIOUS OTHERS is organized by the association VFAMK e.V.—the „Verein zur Förderung der Außenwahrnehmung Münchens als Kunststandort,“ a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting contemporary art in Munich and enhancing its international profile. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the unwavering support of our long-standing partners and members, as well as the tireless dedication of our active participants, all of whom are essential to the success and vitality of VARIOUS OTHERS.
