Situations: Kunsthalle

Under the artistic direction of Berlin-based musician and visual artist Robert Lippok, an international group of artists has been commissioned by the Darmstadt Summer Course to develop an exhibition for the Kunsthalle Darmstadt’s different spaces, in which all rooms will be interpreted collectively and compositionally, featuring individual works. Invited artists come from the fields of experimental electronics, composition, and sound-related visual art: Anushka Chkheidze from Georgia, the Berlin-based Jana Irmert, Nile Koetting, and Nicole L’Huillier as well as the Swiss-based Svetlana Maraš.

The starting point for the joint work is the exhibition presentation space, an essential component of the entire composition. The works react differently to the acoustic, architectural, and historical dimensions. On the one hand, the group’s works reflect six individual artistic positions; but on the other, they are part of an overarching dramaturgy, permeating each other acoustically and spatially and (more or less strongly) referencing each other. As the Kunsthalle exhibition areas are acoustically open spaces, sounds in one particular location always evoke reflections in other areas. The artists in the group sensitively bring these spaces into interaction with each other. Spatially mobile sound sources, sculptural elements, dynamic structures, and performative interventions are elementary components of the exhibition.

The Kunsthalle is thus not simply a venue for a group exhibition. Rather, it becomes a forum for hybrid, sometimes fragile sound-spatial Situations that continue to develop during the festival. After the Summer Course, the exhibition will remain open as a large space-sound installation until 30 August 2025.