Directors Lounge

23/03/2026

Hio, hio Kunstfreund Petter! May the love be with you.
Peter Sempel (* 1954, † 2026)

It is with deep sadness that we have learned of the passing of our longtime friend Peter Sempel. Peter, an artist, filmmaker, and jack-of-all-trades, was not only an artist himself; rather, he dedicated his entire body of work to other artists, whom he portrayed with great love and a childlike curiosity. Kazuo Ohno, Jonas Mekas, Lemmy Kilmister, and Dieter Meier are just a few of the countless artists he placed at the center of his films.

Whenever he wasn’t working on his movies for a brief moment, he delighted all his friends with heartfelt postcards, greetings, and poems, always inspired by the belief that art can make the world a better place.

We miss you,
Team DL

https://directorslounge.net/hio-hio-kunstfreund-petter-may-the-love-be-with-you/
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Pictured: Peter Sempel at our screening of his movie “Jonas in the Jungle”, Z-Bar 2019. Foto: Nick Font

21/03/2026

DL at the .de
the Photo / Media Art Fair at Zeche Zollverein, March 20 – 22, 2026

Friday, March 20, 7 pm – 10 pm
Saturday, March 21, 11 am – 7 pm
Sunday, March 22, 11 am – 7 pm

Relentless Melt No. 44
C.A.R. Video Lounge [Hall A 12 | S4]
Selected video art and experimental animation films by the Project from Hong Hong.

Relentless Melt No. 44: Hong Kong Experimental Animation brings together sixteen recent works that approach animation as a space of rhythm, texture, memory and transformation. Across charcoal, wax, pastel, photographic re-animation, AI-generated and hand-drawn abstraction, the films move through trams and trains, tower blocks and temple roofs, street details and shifting faces, turning Hong Kong into a field of pulse, pattern and sensation. Urban observation meets tactile experimentation as sound, light and movement continually dissolve and re-form. The Relentless Melt collective champions abstract and experimental animation as a site of formal inquiry and sensory exploration. Bringing together artists working across a wide range of techniques and sensibilities, it creates a platform for moving-image practices that are playful, critical and formally adventurous. In this compact one-hour programme, Relentless Melt offers a vivid encounter with Hong Kong animation at its most restless, inventive and alive.

Read more: www.directorslounge.net

Relentless Melt Max Hattler C.A.R. - contemporary art ruhr

19/03/2026

Directors Lounge at the C.A.R. - contemporary art ruhr
Photo / Media Art Fair, March 20 – 22, 2026

Friday, March 20, 7 pm – 10 pm
Saturday, March 21, 11 am – 7 pm
Sunday, March 22, 11 am – 7 pm

The C.A.R. Video Lounge [Hall A 12 | S4]

Dani Mystery Zone x Lüüls Lab

A collaborative project that blends the music of Lutz Graf-Ulbrich with the video art of Dani Mystery Zone.

Lutz Graf-Ulbrich, aka Lüül, is a phenomenon all his own in German music history. He was a pioneer of Krautrock in the late 1960s with his band Agitation Free, achieved worldwide success with the 17 Hippies, shone as an NDW star with “Morgens in der U-Bahn,” and made his mark as a German-language singer-songwriter with radio hits like “Westberlin.” Not a decade has passed since then in which he hasn’t left his musical mark. He even took the stage at the iconic New York club CBGBs—but not with just anyone, but with Nico and John Cale.

“Lüüls Lab,” the solo project by Lutz Graf-Ulbrich, is a tribute to the recently deceased guitarist Manuel Göttsching, with whom he played in the band Ash Ra Tempel / Ashra and had been friends since their youth. From shadowy Berlin, the enigmatic mixed-media artist Dani Mystery Zone guides us through eerie unsolved crimes, ghostly encounters, and supernatural mysteries that blur the line between reality and the uncanny.

Dani Mystery Zone is the creative force behind the fascinating visuals of Lüül’s Lab. Working closely with the artist, she designed eerily beautiful animations and atmospheric worlds that brought his mysterious musical concepts to life with an uncanny, captivating touch. Together, they created a unique artistic universe in which light and shadow, experimental soundscapes, beauty, and the inexplicable blend in perfect harmony.

www.luul.de

Read more: www.directorslounge.com

18/03/2026

16/03/2026

[DL] at the C.A.R. - contemporary art ruhr, the Photo / Media Art Fair at Zeche Zollverein, March 20 – 22, 2026

The C.A.R. Video Lounge 2026 [Hall A 12 | S4] presents two themed programs: 'Relentless Melt', featuring new video art from Hong Kong, and 'Dani Mystery Zone x Lüüls Lab', a collaborative project that blends the music of Lutz Graf-Ulbrich (aka Lüül) with the video art of Dani Mystery Zone.

Heldenhalden & Schaltkreismythologien (1989 | 2026) at the DL Booth [Halle 12 | 17], an artistic research project at the intersection of human and machine by Rainer Görß and André Werner, demonstrates how eight drawings evolve into approximately 33,333 variations...

Read more: www.directorslounge.net
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pictured: Still from 'Faces'(2026) by Sabrina An, Natalie Kiu Tung Ng, Quinn Wing Yi Wong, Jennifier Ching Yu Yu.

16/02/2026

It was an honor to present your work at DL, and a fine example that art can and should be of political relevance.

Henrike Naumann (1984 – 2026). You will be missed.

29/10/2025

Some impressions from the C.A.R. - contemporary art ruhr
Many thanks to all visitors, participating artists & filmmakers, Silvia and Thomas, the organizers, and the wonderful c.a.r. Team! 🌷

https://directorslounge.net/contemporary-art-ruhr-2025/

16/10/2025

Meet us at the C.A.R. - contemporary art ruhr, the Innovative Art Fair at Zeche Zollverein, October 24-26, 2025

Contemporary Art Ruhr, The Art Fair
World Cultural Heritage Site Zollverein
Gelsenkirchener Strasse 181, 45309 Essen

Official Opening
Friday, October 24, 7 pm – 10 pm

Public fair hours
Saturday, October 25, 11 am – 7 pm
Sunday, October 26, 11 am – 7 pm

www.contemporaryartruhr.de

Read more: https://directorslounge.net/contemporary-art-ruhr-2025/2/

Max Hattler

15/10/2025

Die C.A.R. Video Lounge [Halle A 12 | 1. OG, Foyer]! Seid dabei Freitag, 24.10., ab 19h geht es los! 24.-26.10. C.A.R. INNOVATIVE ART FAIR // präsentiert von Directors Lounge // Ausgewählte Videokunst und experimentelle Animationen von Max Hattler (Hong Kong): Seine "Animationsarbeiten unterscheiden sich stark von der traditionellen Animationspraxis. Seine abstrakten Formen erschaffen einen einzigartigen Makrokosmos unter Verwendung einer Vielzahl von Bildgestaltungstechniken, darunter analoge und linsenbasierte Methoden, sowie 3D- und 2D-Digitalanimationen. Mehr: http://www.maxhattler.com/
https://directorslounge.net/


Zu den Online-Tickets: https: contemporaryartruhr.reservix.de/
In vier Hallen: A 5, A 6, A 12, C 70 // ÖFFNUNGSZEITEN: Fr, 19h-22h Sa & So 11h-19h, Tickets: Tageskasse Halle 12, EG

Abbildung: Serial Parallels (2019) enstand mit Stop-Motion-Techniken in der dichten, städtischen Umgebung Hongkongs und spiegelt den schnellen Wachstum einer dystopisch-surrealen Welt wider.

27/07/2025

Join us today: Directors Lounge Screening with Max Hattler!

Abstract Articulations
20 Years of Audiovisual Experiments
Sunday, 27 July 2025, 5 p.m. at Z-Bar Berlin

Max Hattler is a German filmmaker & animator based in Hong Kong. His non-traditional animations with abstract shapes and forms multiply and occupy the screen, turning it into a macrocosm... Read more: https://directorslounge.net/directors-lounge-screening-max-hattler-abstract-articulations/

Curated by Klaus W. Eisenlohr