POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair | Sep 11-14. 2025

Artists:

Vasil Berela:

Vasil Berela was born in Gori, Georgia. He grew up in a typically Georgian environment shaped by the aftermath of the Soviet era: a collapsed infrastructure, political anarchy, and the lingering shadow of civil war. For a child, this atmosphere was deeply formative. These early experiences continue to echo throughout Berela’s artistic work. Many of his pieces carry elements of escapism—opening doors to inner worlds where existence strives to survive amidst a bleak reality, or seeks to flee, perhaps even to forget. And yet, the body remains sensitive—vulnerable to external disturbances. It often appears helpless, almost exposed. No matter how far the mind retreats, the flesh remains. The further the soul withdraws into forgetfulness, the more permeable and reachable the body becomes to the harshness of the outside world. After the war in his hometown in 2008, Berela fled to Germany. Since 2011, he has been living and working in Berlin.

Grapebattleships:

Grapebattleships is an artist duo founded in late 2022 by two Chinese artists based in Berlin. The name “Grapebattleships” reflects their creative process, characterized by a struggle for artistic dominance on the canvas. This confrontational approach imbues their works with a distinctive tension, where contradictions and oppositions form the central theme of their art. The duo engages with contemporary social issues, often reflecting on them from their own perspective. They draw on phenomena from pop culture to pose questions—such as the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into daily life or the nature of social structures and relationships, which they often approach with a touch of humor. Rooted in classical painting, their works redefine imagery through creative reimagining. The result is abstract puzzle-like pieces that bear little resemblance to the original source, yet vividly capture the essence of modern life. This approach offers viewers new visual and emotional experiences.

Norman Maýn:

Norman Maýn was born and grew up in Berlin. He studied at the Universität der Künste Berlin, where he already attracted attention with his graduation project Ghosts, a complex installation about the unreal existence of mistreated and abused spanish hunting dogs. He actually works in Germany (Berlin/Lusatia) and Spain (mainly Andalusia) and connects nearly every medium such as photography, painting, video, text, fragments, objects and transfers them into memorable installations that form comprehensive work cycles. It also happens that works cite each other, are expanded upon, or acquire a new context through reconsideration. He moves between the real and the surreal, personal and collective themes, abstract and precise, narrative such as mystery and removes the boundaries of established artistic areas. His works ritually address an archaic primal pain, discrepancies and areas of tension in human existence and rage on earth in context of saturated and at the same time empty societies. The clear lack of comprehensive descriptions of the postmodern world is translated in Maýn’s visual language particularly through reduction and omission, but also a grasp of fragile and seemingly quickly diffusing moments. Non-colors and raw materials determine the overall visual appearance. The tortured creature and human caused sorrow became central themes.

Manuel Tozzi:

Manuel Tozzi (born 1994 in Salzburg, Austria) works in Berlin and Salzburg. He is a visual artist who makes kinetic sculptures, computer animations and drawings using time-based media. In 2020, Tozzi graduated with a BFA in Film and Animation from the Berliner Technischen Kunsthochschule. In the same year, he gave a lecture on digital fashion design at the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences. He is currently studying sculpture at the Kunsthochschule Berlin Weißensee. His recent group exhibitions have been at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Kunstverein Salzburg, the Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich and the Eigenheim Galerie Berlin. In January 2025, his solo exhibition „was immer war ist“ was on display at Galerie Met in Berlin, Germany. He has been artist in residence at the Salzburg Summer Academy and the Kara Agora Art and Research Center.

More Information:

Information of Vasil Berela
Information of Grapebattleships
Information of Norman Maýn
Information of Manuel Tozzi
Information of POSITIONS Art Fair