Lange Nacht der Museen – Listening Session 

Alongside the art-historical references and parallels that inform Katherine Bernhardt’s impulsive, postmodern assemblages, her work draws extensively on non-Western visual traditions from the Afro-Caribbean, West Africa, and Asia, where the juxtaposition and accumulation of symbols have long been established visual practices. Yet Bernhardt’s painted assemblages do not derive their methodology exclusively from the visual arts. They also draw explicitly on the strategies of hip-hop, reggae, and dub-musical genres whose histories are deeply rooted in sampling, appropriation, repetition, and recombination.

Music plays a central role in Bernhardt’s practice. Her paintings seem to follow a distinctly musical logic, unfolding through intuitive rhythms, repetition, layering, and unexpected juxtapositions. In interviews, Bernhardt has repeatedly emphasized the importance of music in her studio, where, as she describes it, music is always playing while she works.

For the Long Night of Museums, we therefore invited the American artist to put together a playlist of some of her favorite music. Her selection spans decades and genres, ranging from ​’80s pop-including Madonna, Michael Jackson, and The Cure-to contemporary artists such as Bad Bunny and Afro-trap performers. Throughout the evening, a large sound system, cushions, blankets, and rugs will transform the exhibition space into a place to listen, linger, and experience Bernhardt’s paintings in a distinctly musical atmosphere.