Substantial Changes at KAI 10: Art between Nature, Material, and Change
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Substantial Changes: Contemporary Art in the Sign of Material Transformations
The group exhibition Substantial Changes at KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION addresses the question of how art production is realigning itself in light of ecological crises, advancing digitalization, and profound social changes. Seven international positions connect aesthetic experience with a critical investigation of materiality, resources, and artistic responsibility.
Materials between Nature and Artificiality
Dana-Fiona Armour, Julian Charrière, Liza Dieckwisch, Julia Gruner, Vera Kox, Elsa Salonen, and Diana Scherer challenge familiar boundaries between organic and inorganic materials. Their works make it clear that materials are not just passive carriers of an idea, but possess their own properties, reactions, and temporal dimensions.
The exhibition unfolds a sensuous art experience of colors, shapes, surfaces, and unusual materials. In the installations, biological substances, geological finds, grown textiles, glass, metal, and experimental materials converge. The atmosphere of the exhibition arises from processes that partially change, evolve, or escape complete control.
Works as Open Processes
The presented works include Julian Charrière's Spiral Economy, a wall-mounted machine with infinity mirror, lighting, and fossils. Diana Scherer's Apical #18 consists of a grown textile made of roots, earth, and red fabric. Elsa Salonen's Heavenly Wooded Area utilizes fragments of trees and animal bones from Finnish forests, from which colors are distilled or ground.
Liza Dieckwisch expands the concept of sculpture with I ate your mermaid II to include agar agar, gelatin, glycerin, bioglitter, oysters, algae, and food coloring. These works illustrate an art direction in which material research, ecological reflection, and poetic spatial impact intertwine.
Curating and Cultural Education
The exhibition is curated by Ludwig Seyfarth and Julia Katharina Tiemann. Their curation directs the examination of the works towards the relationships between materials, living beings, production processes, and geological temporalities. Artistic authorship appears less as an individual act of creation, but rather as a collaborative process with more-than-human actors.
The exhibition thus offers a solid approach to contemporary art and invites cultural education. Visitors encounter an aesthetic practice that connects research, experiment, and material consciousness.
Accompanying Program and Visit
The exhibition includes an opening on December 3, 2026, at 7 PM as well as public tours at 3 PM on selected Sundays. KAI 10 is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 AM to 5 PM. Holidays are closed.
Conclusion: Art as a Dialogue with a Changing World
Substantial Changes presents contemporary art as a vibrant dialogue between nature, technology, and social responsibility. The exhibition promises an intensive examination of works, unusual material experiences, and new perspectives on the conditions of artistic production. Anyone wishing to not only view contemporary art but also experience it in its material and ecological dimension should definitely discover this art experience live at KAI 10.
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- Website: https://www.kaistrasse10.de/ausstellungen/aktuell/substantial-changes.html
