BERLIN.- Capitain Petzel opened Mikołaj Sobczak’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, on view as part of Berlin Art Week.

Mikołaj Sobczak’s work focuses on the creation of alternative historical images, blending video and painting with performance, often in collaboration with German artist Nicholas Grafia. Sobczak’s surreal, collaged narratives feature protagonists from queer and transgender activism, as well as countercultural emancipatory movements that challenge conventional and canonic historical perspectives through marginalized voices. The exhibition draws inspiration from the cafe and bookstore in the Parisian neighborhood of Montmartre allegedly operated by Eva Kotchever, a Polish-Jewish writer, activist, and queer icon, after her deportation from the US to Europe in the early 20th century. It is dedicated to such rumored and legendary spaces – cabarets, bookstores, cafes, and hotels – where queer individuals could authentically and safely express their identities, highlighting the revolutionary nature of the spaces themselves and forming a sense of community.

The gallery has been transformed into a theatrical setting, utilizing its windows and multiple levels, featuring three scenographic rooms with puppets and furniture, seven wooden cutouts, and a selection of paintings. Central to the exhibition are Kotchever and Sylvin Rubinstein, a Polish-Jewish dancer, performer, and resistance fighter. Both historical figures are closely associated with theater and the organization of spaces for revolutionaries, resistance movements, and queer communities.

Eva Kotchever, also known as Eve Adams, was a notable figure in the early 20th century queer community in New York City, where she ran Eve‘s Hangout, a tea room and underground lesbian club in Greenwich Village. In 1925, she was deported from the United States back to Europe due to her radical activities and writings. Her life in Poland remains largely undocumented, but she later relocated to Paris, where rumors suggest she organized a lesbian cabaret. In 1943 Kotchever and her partner Hella Olstein were arrested in Paris by German occupation forces and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. Kotchever died after two days of imprisonment. Her legacy has recently begun to be recognized in France. In 2019, the city of Paris named a school and a street, Rue Eva-Kotchever, in Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The inscription on the street sign honors Kotchever as a ‘Pionnière des Droits des Femmes’ (Pioneer of Women’s Rights).

Sylvin Rubinstein was renowned for his cross-dressing performances, where he performed under the stage name “Dolores”. Rubinstein used his theatrical skills as a means of survival and resistance during the Nazi occupation, often disguising himself to evade capture. In Sobczak’s dense and intensely stylized compositions, one can discern Rubinstein’s likeness in various stages of his life – from his time as a performer alongside his sister Maria in the two-person flamenco act Imperio and Dolores to his later years as an aging recluse, recounting curious and tragic memories of his youth to a few interested historians. Rubinstein’s involvement in the resistance movements and his ability to create safe spaces for queer individuals and revolutionaries are pivotal to understanding the intersection of art and activism.