Pace Gallery Berlin Explores the Art of Nightlife in New Group Exhibition
Works by David Lynch, Pol Taburet, Alicja Kwade, and more, staged inside an after-hours art bar.
Summary
- Pace Berlin is currently hosting a new group exhibition, Goodbye Sadness, Hello Sadness
- The show features 27 artists whose work explores the emotional terrains of night and nightlife, spanning immersive installations, sculpture, painting, and photography
- A highlight of the show is “Bar Va Bene” (2026), a functioning recreation of Friedrich Kunath’s studio bar in Los Angeles
A bar is the unlikely centerpiece of the ongoing Goodbye Sadness, Hello Sadness. But it is Pace Berlin after all. You can expect the unexpected when it comes to settings and interiors from the mega-gallery’s German outpost, itself housed in an ex-gas 1950s station in Schöneberg.
The gallery is exploring the euphoric and melancholic landscapes of nightlife in its latest group exhibition, running until August 23. Anchored by a replica of “Bar Va Bene”, Friedrich Kunath’s storied studio bar on the ground floor, the showcase steeps visitors in the moods and codes of the after-hours through the works of 27 artists, including David Lynch, Pol Taburet, Robert Nava, Kylie Manning, Elmgreen & Dragset, Alicja Kwade, and more
Goodbye Sadness, Hello Sadness, which shines in neon letters on opposite ends of Kunath’s art bar, takes its name after Bonjour Tristesse, the 1954 novel by the then-18-year-old Françoise Sagan. Famed (and controversial) for its themes of unapologetic desire and hedonism, the book sets the stage for the exhibition’s exploration of abandon and belonging, where night serves as not just a social site, but an affective metaphor for possibility and uncertainty.
Between dusk and dawn contains entire worlds. Several works riff on icons of club life and exclusivity, such as Elmgreen & Dragset’s “But I’m on The Guest List” (2007–15), a “VIP” door leading nowhere, while “Flash” (2025) by Esben Weile Kjær reimagines the disco ball as a giant shimmering bee. Elsewhere, Lauren Quin debuts a new gestural painting that finds meaning in the haze, while Kylie Manning presents a new work that occupies a similarly dynamic psychological terrain.
Goodbye Sadness, Hello Sadness is now on view in Berlin until August 23. The gallery will be open for extended hours for “Bar Va Bene,” which you can check out Thursday through Sunday from 5 PM to 10 PM. Read on for the full list of artists.
Featured artists:
Carolina Aguirre
Jürgen Baldiga
Norbert Bisky
Monica Bonvicini
Albrecht Dürer
Martin Eder
Leon Eisermann
Elmgreen & Dragset
Xie Fan
Gregor Hildebrandt
Okka-Esther Hungerbühler
Max Jahn
Esben Weile Kjaer
Friedrich Kunath
Alicja Kwade
Nadine Lohof
David Lynch
Kylie Manning
Andreas Mühe
Robert Nava
Trevor Paglen
Lauren Quin
Christian Rosa
Jeremy Shaw
Pol Taburet
Tristan Unrau
Sally von Rosen
