Candice Breitz 
Hot Potato

1 MAY until 27 JUN 2026
Opening – 1 MAY 2026, 6-9 pm

KOW’s storefront will serve as a vitrine for ‘Private Dancer,’ a live performance by Breitz:
1 MAY, 6-9 pm
2 MAY, 11 am – 6 pm
3 MAY, 11 am – 6 pm

It’s been a long time since an artist was last swallowed whole by a bear in this city – twenty-two years, to be precise. That was, of course, a very different Berlin: one in which glass cages were still relatively transparent, one not yet shrouded in the fog of Staatsräson.

Once upon a time, bears roamed Berlin’s commons freely – despite being known, every now and again, to nibble on the hands of those who fed them. Bear traps were few and far between. A bear could bust its moves without fear of being pushed to the city outskirts as a threat to public safety. The sustenance of bears had yet to become contingent on dancing to the tune of their keepers.

KOW presents ‘Hot Potato’, a solo exhibition by Candice Breitz, opening on 1 May. As calls to untether art from politics proliferate in Germany and beyond, ‘Hot Potato’ traces the historically fraught relationship between artists and the authorities that preside over them – by means of a series of appropriative homages.

For three days only, over Gallery Weekend, KOW’s storefront will serve as a vitrine for ‘Private Dancer,’ a live performance by Breitz.