Johann König is one of Berlin’s bona fide iconoclasts. Upon opening his gallery at the age of 21, in 2002, he promptly eschewed convention by inviting his friend, artist Jeppe Hein to install a wrecking ball, which swung about perilously, knocking chunks out of the gallery walls whenever anyone entered the room. Amazingly, eleven years later, not only is König very much still in business, but is respected as one of the leading lights in a gallery scene that’s certainly not short of wilful, eccentric and obstinate characters.
During Gallery Weekend 2015, Konig announced his business would henceforth be located mainly at the St Agnes Church building he acquired some years back, a Brutalist former church, if you can imagine such a thing. His former site, at Dessauer Strasse, remains as a special project and storage facility. Across his venues, König continues to showcase regular shows which challenge, perplex and more often than not, reward the curious viewer with their eclectic positions and recherché choices of media. Alongside old König stalwarts such as as Jeppe Hein and Tatiana Trouvé, recent highlights included solo shows by Berliner Alicia Kwade and Cologne's Johannes Wohnseifer.