Archistories

While the main building of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, one of Germany's oldest museum buildings, is currently undergoing extensive renovations, the adjacent Orangery will reopen in November 2025 after several years of refurbishment. The first special exhibition to be shown here in the former greenhouse will focus on the theme of architecture in art.

The special exhibition "Archhistories. Architecture in Art" brings together around 100 works by 70 artists from five centuries, reflecting on buildings and construction in diverse ways. Sometimes playful, sometimes humorous, sometimes socially critical, the works on display explore lived realities, bygone eras, and fantastical spaces. They all reveal how we shape our world or could shape it in the future. The exhibition delves into aesthetic, political, social, and ecological questions.

Paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures from the Kunsthalle's collection are complemented by video works, photographs, and installations by contemporary artists. Archistories thus provides a comprehensive insight into the history of the architectural piece from the 17th century to the present day and makes it clear that architecture always tells history and stories.