Curated by Karola Grässlin

It has always seemed as if Kai Althoff drew from an idiosyncratic Heimat reservoir so deep that the international art world could only look on in consternation. More recently, though, it has become clearer that the untranslatable dialect, hermetic cultural codes, and twisted youth motifs all point to the work’s über-epic dimension. Maybe it has to do with Althoff’s expanding his repertoire of bohemian adolescents to include the more somber protagonists of a demonic German past. Whatever the reason, this show, organized by Karola Grässlin, provides another opportunity to witness the wunderkind’s visionary range: Here, Althoff invites fellow artist Armin Krämer to collaborate on a site-specific installation that meanders throughout the Kunstverein.

— Caroline Schneider