For the inaugural edition of Currents Berlin, MAJ VAN DER LINDEN examines the shifting relationship between craftsmanship, contemporary art and collectible design.
An object changes identity depending on the space in which it is placed. In a home, it is used; in a museum, observed; in a gallery, interpreted; and on the market, assigned a value. Yet objects themselves increasingly resist these classifications: a lamp can assume the presence of a sculpture, a textile can become an artwork, and a ceramic piece can oscillate between everyday function and artistic research.
The separation between art, design and craft does not depend solely on the physical characteristics of an object, but also on the institutions, languages and economic systems that determine its value. Today, many practitioners consciously move between these territories, using materials and production processes to question categories that appear increasingly unable to describe the complexity of contemporary practice.
“Making is thinking,” writes sociologist Richard Sennett in The Craftsman. Manual work is not simply the execution of a fully formed idea, but a process through which thought develops in direct dialogue with material. Every resistance, error or imperfection alters the outcome, producing a form of knowledge that could not emerge in the same way through abstract design alone.
It is within this territory that MAJ VAN DER LINDEN operates. Based in Berlin, the gallery presents collectible design, handcrafted objects and unique works by contemporary artists, designers and makers. Its programme focuses on practices in which craftsmanship is not treated as a decorative quality, but as an essential component of artistic and conceptual research.
With a main space on Veteranenstraße and a satellite location within AM TACHELES, MAJ VAN DER LINDEN also reflects the changing role of the contemporary gallery. No longer simply a space for presentation and sale, the gallery becomes a place of cultural mediation: a context in which different disciplines, practitioners and audiences can enter into dialogue.
This approach defines its participation in the inaugural edition of Currents Berlin, for which MAJ VAN DER LINDEN serves as an ambassador. The programme begins on 9 September with NARRATIVES OF MAKING — Contemporary Positions from Art and Collectible Design, presented at the satellite space in collaboration with Wohnen AM TACHELES.
The exhibition brings together women working across contemporary art, collectible design and material-based disciplines. Rather than placing their works under a single definition, Narratives of Making draws upon the differences between these fields to explore craftsmanship as a language of expression, experimentation and reflection.
Although the works emerge from different materials and processes, they share an understanding of making that extends beyond technical execution. Manual practice becomes a means of articulating personal histories, reinterpreting inherited traditions and engaging with broader cultural questions. The exhibition includes works by Claire de Santa Coloma, Clara Schweers, Dahm Lee, Hanna Fastrich, Julika Hartz, Karen Verlinden, Myriam Perrot, Saskia de Brauw, Studio Jumi, Tanja Neubert, Ursula Wagner and Zeynep Boyan.
On 10 September, the Veteranenstraße space will open After Summer, its new showroom edition for Autumn/Winter 2026/27. The presentation brings together works by Seamus Kowarzik, Marten Herma Anderson, Gonzalez Haase AAS, Garth Roberts, Anoe Melliou and others. By continuing beyond Currents, the project transforms the festival from a temporary appointment into the beginning of a broader seasonal programme.
Taken together, the two exhibitions suggest that the significance of an object may lie precisely in its ability to remain unresolved: neither entirely functional nor purely contemplative, neither wholly art nor simply design. By creating a space in which these ambiguities can remain visible, MAJ VAN DER LINDEN does more than challenge established classifications; it asks whether categories still help us understand contemporary objects, or merely determine where, and how, we are taught to value them.
Credits: Simone Lorusso
Photo by Clemens-Poloczek and Maximilian-Mouson
MAJ VAN DER LINDEN is a Berlin-based design gallery at the intersection of fine and applied arts. The gallery is presenting Collectible Design and handcrafted objects, often unique pieces, by select contemporary artists, designers and manufacturers with a strong focus on craftsmanship. The gallery spaces in Berlin-Mitte are platforms for inspiring exhibitions, discussions, and product launches.
