Tag Archives: Ivy Alumni Berlin

Past Events Berlin

Harvard Club Invite for Dinner and Lecture

Hello All!

The Harvard Club of Berlin invites us to a diner and chat with Jörg Rocholl, Chair of the Advisory Board to the German Ministry of Finance. 

Details below from Harvard.

Cheers!
Carl Kruse

Dear members and friends of the Harvard Community in Berlin,

Germany’s future prosperity and stability can no longer be taken for granted. Economic pressure, demographic change, and global competition are raising urgent questions about how we stay innovative, resilient, and socially cohesive.

In this moment of strategic reorientation, we invite you to a Leadership Dinner and Lecture with Professor Jörg Rocholl, president of ESMT Berlin and a leading voice on Germany’s economic future. As a finance expert and chair of the advisory board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance, Rocholl is deeply engaged in some of the country’s most urgent debates. He is currently contributing to the German pension commission, where the challenge of financing social security in an aging society is no longer theoretical. It is immediate.

Germany’s demographic reality is reshaping everything, from pensions and public finances to skilled labor and long-term growth. To answer this Germany must become a country of brain gain that attracts, retains, and empowers international talent while strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship. At a time when many highly qualified people from the U.S. and around the world are reconsidering where they can best live, work, and build their future, Germany has a real opportunity to position itself as a destination of choice. Brain gain is also about building a society where talent can succeed, education and lifelong learning are prioritized, and transformation is embraced. At ESMT Berlin, where Jörg Rocholl serves as president, this mission is central to developing the leaders the country requires.

What does Germany need to thrive economically, socially, and globally? And what decisions must be made now to secure long-term prosperity for the next generation?

Join us for this timely and forward-looking conversation on February 19. The discussion will be held in English.

We look forward to welcoming you.

When?: Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 6:30 pm

Where?: Restaurant Il Punto, Lasagneria

Neustädtische Kirchstraße 6, 10117 Berlin

Dresscode: Smart Casual

Tickets:

Members & partners: 45 € p.p.

Non-Members: 55 € p.p.

Welcome drinks and two course menu are included.

Drinks with the meal will be charged separately.

30 tickets are available for this event.

Please register via the following link: Registration Link until February 12, 2026.

Payment options:

Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.

IBAN: DE33 1007 0848 0036 7532 00

BIC: DEUTDEDB110

Reference: your name & HLD Rocholl

Paypal: frohn@pwwl.de  family and friends

Reference: your name & HLD Rocholl

Harvard University Alumni Club of Berlin e.V.
c/o Pusch Wahlig Workplace Law
Berliner Freiheit 2
10785 Berlin

Tel.: +49 (0)30 20629530
Fax: +49 (0)30 206295399

Past Events Berlin

Art Vernissage at Vorona Gallery in Berlin

by Carl Kruse



The Ivy Circle Berlin invites you to an exclusive preview of the art exhibit Face Off at the Vorona Galerie, Friedbergstraße 12, 14057 Berlin on Thursday, February 19, 2026 starting at 6pm.

This is a private tour by gallery owner Julia Vorozhtsova and art curator Jenia Yanes on the day before the exhibit opens to the public. 

Champagne expert Fanny Thiel — who is from Champagne, France — will be on hand to serve champagne from her curated selection, while it lasts.

Event Description

Face Off is a group exhibition bringing together artists from diverse cultural contexts: Anastasia Tory (Ukraine–United Kingdom), Rolf Abendroth (Germany), Andreas Geissel (Germany), Cristine Balarine (Brazil-Italy), Sergio Gomez (Mexico-USA), and Jens Joneleit (Germany).

For centuries, the portrait has remained one of the central genres of art. Kings and aristocrats commissioned formal portraits to affirm status and power; artists depicted themselves and their loved ones in an attempt to preserve a gaze, a gesture, a presence in time. The portrait was not merely an image of a person, but a tool of memory, authority, and identity.

A fundamental shift occurred in the early nineteenth century, when photography assumed the role of preserving the human face for posterity. In the twenty-first century, this function has been fully transferred to the cameras of mobile phones: the realistic portrait is created instantly and loses its sense of exclusivity.

It is at this point that art enters a new field of inquiry. If outward appearance no longer requires artistic mediation, what constitutes a portrait today?

Where is the boundary between face and image, between recognizability and inner state?

How can a person (or the self) be described through means removed from the conventions of realistic portraiture?

The exhibition Face Off unfolds as an artistic investigation of these questions.

The works on view reveal a broad range of approaches: from distortion and fragmentation to symbolic and emotional languages. Here, the face ceases to function as a mirror of physical likeness and instead becomes a site of projection, confrontation, and play. It may appear as a mask, a trace, a sign, a state, or an unresolved question.

The title Face Off refers to a moment of direct confrontation: between viewer and image, artist and the tradition of portraiture, the real and the imagined. It evokes the act of “removing the mask,” when the face loses its social function and transforms into a carrier of inner, often vulnerable and unsettling content.

The event is free but has limited space and an RSVP to Carl Kruse at info@carlkruse.net is mandatory. Please do not show up without having reserved a spot.

Following the exhibit, those who wish can head over to the Galander Bar for a nightcap – a 5 min walk from the gallery at Stuttgarter Pl. 15 10627 Berlin.  The Galander is one of the top bars in Charlottenburg and a throwback to another era.  Perfect for after-gallery gatherings.

Past Events Berlin

Upcoming Art Exhibit: Bad Jew/God Jew At The Bunker West in Berlin

by Carl Kruse

Friend of the Ivy Circle, artist Yury Kharchenko invites us to the opening of the exhibit “Bad/Good Jews,” to take place November 13, 2025 at 7pm at Bunker West, Hohenzollerndamm 120, 14199 Berlin. The exhibit runs through November 27, 2025.

The exhibition “Bad / Good Jews” brings together five outstanding Jewish artists: Alexander Melamid, Yury Kharchenko, Art Spiegelman, Marat Guelman and Michael Grobman. The curators are Aljoscha Samjatin and Yury Kharchenko.

At its core, the exhibition addresses the question of Jewish identity in the 21st century, with October 7, 2023 – the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians – viewed as a turning point, evoking memories of the Shoah and highlighting the continued vulnerability of Jewish life worldwide. The artists observe that Jews are targeted by both right-wing antisemitism (e.g., Holocaust denial, ethnonationalist ideologies) and left-wing antisemitism (justification of terror, demonization of Israel). In European cultural discourse, this manifests as a split between “good” and “bad” Jews – depending on political narratives.

“Bad / Good Jews” resists such labeling. The exhibition explores how art reflects and transforms historical trauma, religious tradition, digital technologies, and political rupture. The works span painting and graphic art, conceptual positions, and projects involving artificial intelligence.

The Artists

Alexander Melamid
In his series Ten Other Jews of the 20th Century, Alexander Melamid provocatively questions the standard Jewish historical icons by juxtaposing them with anti-heroes – figures marginalized or excluded from collective memory. This contrast is more than artistic provocation; it challenges viewers to reconsider the construction of guilt, identity, and memory. Melamid exposes how history is selectively told and how remembrance can both produce and deny political narratives.

Yury Kharchenko
Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Kharchenko’s visual language has undergone a radical shift – becoming more direct and urgent. His works bring Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) symbols into dialogue with quotes from Jean Améry. He also presents a provocative juxtaposition of pop culture and historical memory: superheroes and Disney characters appear in front of the Auschwitz gate – the symbol of the industrial murder of European Jews.

In this context, these iconic figures lose their dominant symbolism – they seem disempowered, almost helpless in the face of resurging violence and contemporary antisemitism. Alongside these images, the slogan “From the river to the sea” appears – a phrase that, especially after October 7, has become for many a direct threat to Jewish life.

Kharchenko’s works navigate the fragile boundary between memory and present, between trauma and political reality. His art challenges the certainties of history and identity, compelling the audience to confront the fractured state of Jewish life today.

In “Bad / Good Jews,” Kharchenko’s work forms the emotional and intellectual core of the exhibition – a powerful artistic intervention against oversimplification and categorization, against the division into “good” and “bad” Jews. His images are a call for resistance, remembrance, and self-determination.

Art Spiegelman
Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman, globally recognized for his graphic novel Maus, presents a complex visual language in Crossroads (Wandering Jews). He merges medieval iconography with contemporary motifs to trace both ruptures and continuities in Jewish history. Spiegelman’s works are powerful reminders that the post-Holocaust vow of “Never again” is increasingly under threat. His images serve as both places of remembrance and urgent warnings – against forgetting, against downplaying atrocities.

Michael Grobman
A key figure of the “Second Russian Avant-Garde” and a resident of Israel since the 1970s, Michael Grobman weaves mystical elements and Jewish history into his art. His works incorporate motifs from Kabbalah, a profound Jewish mystical tradition, alongside painful memories of the Shoah. Grobman’s painting evokes spiritual depth, treating trauma not only as something to be reflected upon but as part of an ongoing process of healing and identity formation. His art expresses a continuous search for meaning and belonging.

Marat Guelman
Marat Guelman views his work as an homage to his Jewish identity, to his mother, and to the conscious experience of that identity. In his creative process, he “tries on” different artistic roles – a method that has become central to his practice. For Bad / Good Jews, he appears as a kind of “Jewish Andy Warhol” – a persona born from a late but profound awareness of his Jewish roots.

Significance of the Exhibition
Bad / Good Jews is an artistic dialogue about Jewish heritage, responsibility, and the future. In a bunker built by the Nazis, Jewish art becomes an act of resistance: it gives voice to the victims, rejects the division into “good” and “bad” Jews, and asserts the right to life, remembrance, and self-determination.

Volker Beck, President of the German-Israeli Society and Sergey Lagodinsky, member of European Parliament will give short presentations.

Light food will be provided.

Past Events Berlin

Double Art Exhibition with Helena Kauppila – July 18

by Carl Kruse

Friend of the Ivy Circle and Columbia alum Helena Kauppila invites all to the opening reception of Ein guter Grund, a duo exhibition at Alter Kiosk Berlin. The event takes place on Friday, July 18th, starting at 6 pm, and there will be a performance.

Opening Reception
Ein guter Grund
Ernst Handl and Helena Kauppila
Friday, July 18, 2025
6 pm

Gallery location
Alter Kiosk Berlin
Grunewaldstraße 27
12165 Berlin-Steglitz

The exhibition’s title Ein guter Grund plays on the layered meanings of the German word Grund—referring both to a motive or reason, and to the painted ground that forms the essential base of a work. This duality reflects both Helena’s and Handl’s shared interest in how thoughtful beginnings—whether philosophical or material—shape the unfolding of artistic process.
The exhibition unfolds along a circular route through eight interconnected rooms, including an underground section presenting some video works, and a tall transitional passage that holds Handl’s large textile piece suspended from the ceiling. Several sunlit rooms will be filled with their paintings, including Helena’s recent work Spring! (2025), 30 x 30 cm, oil on linen. Inspired by the special yellow light as spring arrives, this is one of Helena’s favorite paintings.
There will be some introductory words and a performance around 7:30 pm.  Cheers!
Carl Kruse
Berlin Chair, Princeton University
Ivy Circle Berlin
Past Events Berlin

DANCAE’s “Chasing Nothing” modern dance performance

by Carl Kruse

The DANCAE dance company invites members of the Ivy Circle to its upcoming performance of “Chasing Nothing,” a new three-act ballet set to electronic music, performed by dancers of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Performances take place July 5, 7,8, 9 and 10, 2025 at Eichenstraße 4A, 12435 Berlin, Germany

For further information and tickets see:  https://dancaeberlin.com

About DANCAE
Founded in Berlin as a collective of classically trained ballet dancers, choreographers, and multidisciplinary artists, DANCÆ is reshaping contemporary performance by merging neoclassical ballet with electronic music, immersive installations, and cutting-edge technology. Their in-house ensemble, Ballet Sur_real, exemplifies this hybrid vision: a platform for cross‑disciplinary collaboration with DJs, visual artists, fashion designers, and spatial sound engineers.


Premiering July 5, 2025, at Eichenstraße 4A in Berlin, Chasing Nothing unfolds over three acts. It is set within a kinetic foil‑based installation by Dominic Kießling, whose subtle, air‑driven sculptures mirror dancers’ transient forms. This visual dialogue underscores the theme of ephemerality and human desire.

DANCÆ stands at the forefront of Berlin’s avant‑garde dance scene, rooted in ballet tradition yet boldly experimental. With a roster of internationally trained dancers, celebrated choreographers, and alliances with leading composers, technologists, and visual artists, their work transcends performance—it’s an immersive artistic ecosystem. Chasing Nothing continues this trajectory, offering Berlin audiences a rich sensory encounter that probes the nature of desire, memory, and impermanence through movement, sound, and space.

Past Events Berlin

Till Richter Museum hosts artist Maria Nitulescu

by Carl Kruse

Friend of the Ivy Circle, artist Maria Nitulescu, invites everyone to her solo exhibition: “At the Crossroads of Memory” taking place at the Till Richter Museum, Schloss Buggenhagen, Buggenhagen (near Usedom), Germany.

The exhibition goes until 31 August 2025.

Museum website: https://tillrichtermuseum.org/

Google Maps Location: https://g.co/kgs/NNda6wJ

Spanning several rooms, the exhibition explores the connection between scent, memory, and material.

Central to the installation is the scent of hay from Romania, triggering involuntary memories that evoke both personal and collective histories.

The works draw on the artist’s own experiences, the particular smell of Transylvanian hay (shaped by its rich variety of plants), and the traditions of her native Romania. Using scent, fabric from her maternal grandmother’s dowry, plaster, and glass, she creates an immersive environment that invites visitors to experience memory as a sensory journey.

Past Events Berlin

Impari Moda’s “Circle of Change” During Berlin Fashion Week

by Carl Kruse

The fashion house IMPARI MODA invites the Ivy Circle to IMPARI’s “CIRCLE OF CHANGE” on July 1, 2025, at Kühlhaus Berlin, as part of Berlin Fashion Week.

The invite from Impari invites us to “experience an immersive live performance featuring sustainable fashion, dance, visual art, and a live violinist known, among others, for performing with Adele.”

IMPARI MODA has developed special threads from recycled plastic bottles, which are then used to create unique high fashion clothing.

Full details & RSVP here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaf1yBov2ymHF-1j_jJOZwLXjh0ZfE9u7El4_eAwxOW-2SNw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=113764675007471427843

We’d love to see you there!

Past Events Berlin

The Miettinen Collection Hosts Artist Helena Kauppila


By Carl Kruse

Ivy Circle member Helena Kauppila who we have done several events with in the past (see her well-received brunch here) invites the Ivy Circle and friends to her continuing exhibition at the Miettinen Collection.

Here is the invite from Helena herself:

“I am honored that my recent work Early Life (2025) will be included in the exhibition A Little Madness in the Spring, an exhibition in collaboration with Sotheby’s International Realty and the Miettinen Collection.

The exhibition is open by appointment until July 11th, 2025. To make an appointment, please contact Riina Kylätasku at the Miettinen Collection (the email contact is below).

The exhibition is curated by Riina Kylätasku and explores the themes of spring and the beauty of life. How artists translate nature’s wild renewal into paint–revealing beauty not just in what grows, but in how we feel it. The title is inspired by Emily Dickinson’s famous poem “A Little Madness in the Spring:”

A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown – 
Who ponders this tremendous scene – 
This whole Experiment of Green – 
As if it were his own!

In my painting Early Life, I go back to the very beginning of life on Earth. What is life? How did life first arise? How is life connected?  Not only genetics and biology but many fields of inquiry are involved in trying to answer these origin questions.

There’s a subtle visual element in this painting arising from the embedded DNA code: under certain lighting conditions, when blue or purple tones come forward, large-scale structures emerge—only to dissolve again as the light shifts. The painting thus balances between order and chaos, between system and individual.  

If you would like to add Early Life to your collection, or are interested in visiting the exhibition A Little Madness in the Spring, please contact Riina Kylätasku at the Miettinen Collection: kylaetasku@miettinen-collection.de

Best regards,
Helena

About Helena:
A mathematician turned visual artist, Helena is intrigued by complexity and emerging systems. While her colorful work may appear random and disjointed, there is a systems process behind it, often anchored in mathematics. Her work touches on the structure of DNA, mathematical theories, and the human connection to nature and the world around us..

Kauppila lives in Berlin and holds a doctorate in Mathematics from Columbia University and is the recipient of the Reginald Marsh and Felicia Meyer Marsh scholarship at the Art Students League of New York.