Pool Traits beyond the image

BBA Gallery is pleased to present Poor Traits: Beyond the Image, a multi-disciplinary group exhibition featuring ten international contemporary artists, opening during Berlin Art Week 2026. Working across painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video, and mixed media, the participating artists move past traditional portraiture to examine how identity is constructed, performed, concealed, and revealed.

What truly constitutes a person? A face, a memory, a gesture, a mask, or a story? In an era defined by hyper-curated digital personas and shifting social roles, the concept of selfhood has become increasingly fluid and fragmented. Playing on the phonetic duality of "portraits," Poor Traits embraces the human imperfections, contradictions, vulnerabilities, and psychological complexities that resist superficial representation.

From intimate psychological explorations to broad critiques of societal pressures, technology, and culture, the exhibition probes the nuanced spaces between image and reality, presence and absence, self-perception and external projection. Poor Traits invites viewers to look beyond physical appearance and consider a fundamental question: what does it truly mean to be human today?

Exhibition Details:

Opening Reception: Wednesday, September 09, 2026

Berlin Art Week Dates: September 09 – September 13, 2026

Exhibition Duration: September 09 – October 24, 2026

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday | 12:00 – 18:00 | Sunday | 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Featured Artists: Jens Juul, Vishal Shah, Jaroslav Drazil, among others.

Location: BBA Gallery, Köpenicker Str. 96, 10179 Berlin-Mitte

Admission: Free