Artist Biography
Carsten Höller (b. 1961, Brussels, Germany, based in Stockholm, Sweden and Biriwa, Ghana) combines his background in agricultural science with his art-making to explore human behaviour, perception and interaction. Presented as participatory sculptures, immersive environments and multimedia installations, his work brings about states of humour, whimsicality, doubt and confusion, prompting viewers to reconsider how they relate to the world around them.
Gaining prominence alongside other artists who were similarly exploring the spatial and experiential aspects of art in the 1980s, Höller’s scientific expertise influences his investigative approach, positioning his audience as subjects of social and sensory experiments. Works like Test Site (2006), an installation of massive, winding slides, and Flying Machine (1996), a motorised structure onto which visitors are secured and hoisted through the air, take inspiration from public spaces such as amusement parks, zoos and playgrounds. In installations that incorporate subjects like live birds, fictional animals and enlarged sculptures of fungi cross-sections, the artist draws visitors into encounters that combine elements of scientific inquiry with a direct engagement of the senses.
Höller obtained his PhD in Agricultural Science from the University of Kiel in 1993. His work can be found in major collections including Centre Pompidou, Paris; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa; Toyota Municipal Museum of Art; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Tate, London; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Notable recent solo exhibitions include DAY (2021), Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Lisbona; DAC Slide (2020), Dansk Arkitektur Center, Copenhagen; SUNDAY (2019). Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City; REPRODUCTION (2019), Copenhagen Contemporary, Aalborg; BEHAVIOUR (2019), Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg; Bonn Slide (2018), Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn; and Y (2017). Centro Botin, Santander. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including the 8th Berlin Biennale (2014); Burning Down the House (2014), 10th Gwangju Biennale; Fundamentals (2014), 14th Venice Architecture Biennale; Close, Closer (2013), 3rd Lisbon Architecture Triennale; Re:emerge (2013), 11th Sharjah Biennial; 5th Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale (2012); 10,000 Lives (2010), 8th Gwangju Biennale; Utopics (2009), 11th Swiss Sculpture Exhibition, Bienne; Making Worlds (2009), 53rd Venice Biennale; Dreams and Conflicts (2003), 50th Venice Biennale; Prophetic Corners (2003), 6th Periferic Biennial, Lasi; C’est arrivé demain (2003), 7th Lyon Biennale; MEGA-WAVE—Towards a New Synthesis (2001). 1st Yokohama Triennale; The Passion and the Wave (1999), 6th Istanbul Biennial; Manifesta 2 (1998), 2nd Manifesta, Luxemburg. Höller represented Sweden at The Experience of Art (2005), 51st Venice Biennale.
Carston Höller had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2015, resulting in the group exhibition Exquisite Trust (Blindly Collective Collaborations) (2017) with artists Tobias Rehberger, Anri Sala and Rirkrit Tiravanija.