Since arriving in September, I have spent a lot of time wandering Berlin’s streets looking at the art pasted and painted to its walls. This is city where the gallery is all around you. There are artists with recognizable style, motifs and messages.

One of my favorites, that I noticed early on, was a series of modern “Saint” prints pasted by door and onto walls. These are very thoughtful pieces: serious cultural criticism, executed beautifully with careful details. I had done some searching on the web and found that the pieces are created by a team calling themselves Various & Gould. They call the works the “Sankt Nimmerlein” and that they would be displaying them for the first time as a complete set at the end of the month in Hamburg.

Since Hamburg was already on my radar for quick getaway, I decided that exhibit would be my destination. As it turns out, I had misread the date of the opening which is not until today - too late for me see it since I have an audition in Berlin.

But on the train to Hamburg I was walking back to my seat from a trip to the WC and noticed a guy cutting out colorful screenprints. It was so obviously the same workstyle as the Saints I had been photographing around Kreuzberg. So I just stopped and asked if he was the artist. He said that yes, he and the woman sitting next to him were the team known as Various & Gould. I told them that one of the reasons I was going to Hamburg was to see their show there. At which point they told me there was a preview party that night and they would see me there!

I did track down the party later, but I couldn’t find them or their work so possibly I found the wrong fancy art party. (And by the way, my party crashing skills are totally undiminished abroad.) Nonetheless, it was quite thrilling to get to meet the creators of one of my favorite things in Berlin. It also seems indicative of the vibrancy and accessibility of art and the people who make it in this city.