Berlin Biennale.

VARIOUS VENUES

When the first installment of the Berlin Biennale was held in 1998, the stakes were high. The city was emerging from its postwar contemporary-art stupor, and BBI was a little biennial with a big chip on its shoulder. Now that the belatedness syndrome is a bit less pronounced, perhaps the show--curated by De Appel's Saskia Bos and featuring fifty-plus artists--will convert raw energy into an exhibition with real muscle. At least this edition, postponed after funding problems nixed the planned September overlap with the city's annual art fair, sticks with the pair of venues that, for better or worse, embody Berlin's Tale of Two Cities: the spanking-clean SoHo-comes-to-Mitteleuropa Kunst-Werke, and the funky, freighted old Mitte post office. Apr. 20-June 20.