The Living House can be understood as an exploration of domestic environments and their fluid transitions into living bodies. Inspired by architect Friedrich John Kiesler’s (1890–1965) vision of a labyrinthine biomorphic space that adapts to the individual needs of its inhabitants and uses sensory stimuli to connect internal and external perception, the artists in the exhibition propose works that bring together the building, courtyard, garden, and visitors. The resulting works pass through different stages: bodies and objects are moved, formed and deformed, each following their own logic and rhythm in the pursuit of shifting impulses to show and hide themselves. The artists’ subjects include the house, but also clothes, bodies, the uterus, and cells: all connoting an interest in stabilizing, permeable structures. In the search for porous sites or membranes, doorsteps, windows, vents, and pipes come to the fore, as well as bodily orifices, like ears and mouths. All these are zones of transition, mutability, and touch, but also sites of uncertainty and productive ambiguity. In the works, changing circular flows and infrastructures are cited, rendered visible, and artistically manipulated – mixing individually perceived, recorded and speculative elements. The Living House thus reveals itself as a breathing place where a wide range of shifting alliances and moods are welcome, a place of physical and psychological instabilities that can be felt rather than seen.

artists: Patricia L. Boyd, Mahalia Heydemann, Kinke Kooi, Piotr Łakomy, Claudia Pagès, Gyan Panchal, Jesse Stecklow

curator: Nele Kaczmarek

assistant curator: Raoul Klooker

Download Exhibition booklet