Since opening his Copenhagen gallery in 1987, Mikael Andersen has worked with many notable artists in contemporary German art. That, together with the unrivalled gallery scene in Berlin, prompted Andersen to set up another gallery space. This second Galerie Mikael Andersen recently opened in the increasingly gentrifying bohemian berg of Prenzlauer, an area of the former East Berlin famous for its eclecticism.
Andersen began with the red brick shell of a former brewery dating back to the 1800s. Extensive renovations to the interior have turned the industrial space into a 250-square-metre gallery with a raw monochromatic white interior.
Above the gallery Andersen has completely transformed the existing rooms into living quarters highly characteristic of their owner. The Scandinavian-influenced interior reflects the restraint typical of Danish design with carefully selected objects and finishes such as 30-centimetre-wide blonde fir flooring from Dinesen; as well as a marble-topped coffee table by Poul Kjærholm and Arne Jacobsen’s iconic Swan Chairs, both for Fritz Hansen.
In this intimate, refined space, Andersen’s art collection truly steals the spotlight. Contemporary Danish and German works – including a wide assortment of ceramics from 1960s West Germany – form the centrepieces, along with Japanese and South African art. A swirling night sky by Danish painter Eske Kath occupies the kitchen, while a large-scale portrait of a young man on a vivid abstract background, by South Africa’s Mustafa Maluka, fills a prominent place on the living room wall.