Selected Works
Exhibitions
All Exhibitions
Texts
All TextsCarsten Becker – On the Biography of Things
Elisabeth Sonneck, 2023
The pack (das Rudel), 2023, by Berlin-based artist Carsten Becker was first shown in the exhibition Roundtrip – Fluidum #2 at Fabbrica Del Vapore, Milano/IT: a dense assemblage of bottles arranged in an acute triangle on the floor. In the flow of the arrangement, the bottle type and matte, monochrome coloring changes from dark green tones through brown to golden beige. Becker's work stands in the context of examining National Socialist crimes. The bottles stem from his research into the standardization of everyday objects, inseparably connected to military uses.
The Uncanny Beauty of Efficiency
Excerpt of: Art and standards. DIN standards and RAL colors in Carsten Becker's work series DIN
Anika Reineke, 2022
At first glance, standards and art seem to be mutually exclusive, as one is considered the epitome of structure and reliability, while the other is regarded as ruleless creation. The work series DIN by Berlin-based artist Carsten Becker is an occasion to look at standardisation in technology and society and to ask about the influence of standards for the people. A selection of works by Becker was shown in February and March 2022 in the exhibition Norm in Chemnitz, Germany. Anika Reineke locates his works in the history of artistic approaches to repetition, pattern and seriality.
Forgotten Colors
Philipp Hindahl, 2018
Utility objects do not come by their colors randomly, they are chosen according to standards. In Germany, the RAL standard sets the norm, a collection of colors that meets the requirements of public authorities, the military and industry. In his work, artist Carsten Becker is concerned with the gaps and continuities in this collection. It displays a microcosm of German history.
News
- Review in Art a Part of Cult(ure)
"Working with the aesthetics of power and with components from the domain of war production, Becker draws on the logic of calculation to activate critical thought."
– Floriana Savino in Art a Part of Cult(ure)Read review (Italian) - Interview on the Podcast Natürliche Ausrede
A conversation about vanished colours, RAL standards, Dark Yellow and Panzer Grey, Rommel's Africa campaign and the TGL colour standards of the GDR.
Podcast (German) - Anne Rabe on my work on Deutschlandfunk Kultur
"The picture speaks to me because I understand what coming to terms with the past means: approaching it, ending up with something, seeing something, recognizing something – but no longer quite reaching it."
– Anne Rabe in her interview on Studio 9 (from 26:45)Listen on Deutschlandfunk Kultur (German)
Upcoming
- Judgment and Calculationfrontviews at HAUNT, BerlinJul 11 – Aug 22, 2026
- MitgiftS-Gallery, Los AngelesOpening: Thursday, Oct 29, 6 pmThrough Nov 3, 2026