Sven Marquardt

One knows Sven Marquardt. As one of the brightest shining figures in Berlin’s urban underground scene, or as a photographer for over 30 years portraying the beauty of the city’s subculture, mostly black and white, always remarkable. And yes, one may also know Mr. Marquardt as being at the end of the line of the infamous Berghain.

Marquardt got into visual arts back in the 80s and put his focus on analogue photography, picturing mystic and melancholic figures. As an artist, he first took pictures for magazines, before fixating on GDR’s underground scene and the main characters within it.
While cherished in the east, Marquardt’s photography never really got appreciated in the west after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Too raw, too wild, too strange were the adjectives used to describe his photography. It was back then when he dove into Berlin nightlife and started working the door first at Ostgut, then at Berghain.
Inspired by the places and people around him, Sven Marquardt got into photography again – and hasn’t stopped since. His art is exhibited in various galleries and museums in Berlin, Tel Aviv or Lyon, and he is booked for commissioned works for collectors and brands.

In his talk, Sven Marquardt will speak about his exceptional life, about changes in the cultural world and how the pandemic has affected it all.

Portraits ©Vitali Gelwich