Between innovation, genius, wishful thinking, good intentions, megalomania, and failure lies the Luftschloss, the castle in the air. According to common belief, architects of such castles have, quite literally, lost the ground beneath their feet. Their projects are too large, too expensive, technically unfeasible, simply unheard of. Real construction projects, too, can turn into (temporary) castles in the air when their realization triggers an escalation of costs and time, sometimes with an open-ended outcome. Evidence of this can be found in construction pits that have turned into biotopes and in never-completed investment ruins which, often appearing as skeletal remains, have transformed from castles in the air into ghost houses.
Yet these visions should by no means be underestimated, for plans, dreams, flights of fancy, and cloud-cuckoo-lands harbor great power, and something new emerges above all when one attempts to bring what is actually impossible into the world after all. It is therefore high time to dedicate an exhibition to castles in the air and their architects, one that approaches the subject from cultural-studies, artistic, and playful perspectives. High as a Kite, Castles in the Air in Art and Reality brings together artistic works that have overcome gravity: heavenly, airy architectures; artistic commentaries on gigantic construction projects; or asserted projects with an actionist impetus.
with
Limbo Accra | Nándor Angstenberger | Markus Dorfmüller | Clemens Gritl | Christian Jankowski | Gordon Matta-Clark | Reiner Maria Matysik | Andrea Pichl | Thomas Ravens | Ursula Sax | Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas