elmgreen & dragset | designboom.com https://www.designboom.com/tag/elmgreen-dragset/ designboom magazine | your first source for architecture, design & art news Thu, 18 Dec 2025 14:12:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 TOP 10 pavilions of 2025 https://www.designboom.com/architecture/top-10-pavilions-2025-12-22-2025/ Mon, 22 Dec 2025 10:00:44 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=1165522 from bamboo vaults rising in flood-prone villages to inflatable dream temples, here are ten pavilions reshaping how we think about space right now.

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the pavilion projects steering 2025’s design conversation

 

Pavilions are architecture’s fast, experimental structures that test ideas long before they scale up to cities. This year’s highlights push that spirit further, blurring the lines between sculpture, shelter, ritual space, and ecological device. From bamboo vaults rising in flood-prone villages to inflatable dream temples, from wind-driven feather structures on remote islands to LEGO-built playscapes in London, the pavilion becomes a tool for storytelling.

 

Across the ten projects, a set of shared themes emerges: material reinvention, circular design, and a renewed focus on community. Bread waste becomes structure, bamboo becomes climate infrastructure, and woven rattan becomes a water-harvesting system. Some pavilions introduce new behaviors, gathering, dreaming, resting, learning, while others revive old rituals like bathing or communal reading. What ties them together is their willingness to ask what a temporary space can do, and how it can shift our relationship to place, resources, and each other. Here are ten pavilions reshaping how we think about space.

 

 

LINA GHOTMEH’S EXPO PAVILION TAKES GOLD IN OSAKA


image courtesy of Lina Ghotmeh—Architecture

 

Lina Ghotmeh—Architecture designs the Bahrain Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka, crafting a timber-and-aluminum structure inspired by the nation’s traditional dhow boats and its long maritime history. Positioned along the waterfront in the Expo’s Empowering Lives zone, the pavilion bridges Bahraini boat-building heritage with Japanese wood craftsmanship, expressing cultural exchange through material and form. The structure reinterprets millennia-old construction techniques with a lightweight wooden frame, an aluminum outer layer, and passive cooling strategies that reduce mechanical energy use.

 

Designed for disassembly and reuse after the Expo, the pavilion embodies Bahrain’s commitment to sustainability and craft-driven innovation. The structure received the Gold Award for Best Architecture and Landscape in the Self-Built category, recognizing Ghotmeh’s precise, contextual approach and the pavilion’s refined expression of Bahrain’s cultural and environmental heritage.

 

read more here

 

 

 

SIR PETER COOK’S LEGO PLAY PAVILION FOR THE SERPENTINE

 


The Play Pavilion, designed by Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab), in collaboration with Serpentine and the LEGO Group © Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab) | images courtesy of Serpentine; photos by Andy Stagg, unless stated otherwise

 

Serpentine and the LEGO Group’s Play Pavilion by Sir Peter Cook, installed in London’s Kensington Gardens, is a bright, bowl-shaped structure wrapped in orange and animated with LEGO-built topographies. The exterior walls of the pavilion rise and dip like a shifting landscape, inviting visitors to touch the tactile brick formations before stepping inside.

 

Sunlight filters through gaps between the roof and base, filling the interior with natural light while maintaining a breezy, open feel. A towering central pillar, assembled from LEGO bricks, anchors the space like a watchful robotic figure. Visitors are encouraged to play, build, and modify the pavilion in real time through an interactive brick wall and a trove of LEGO pieces. Multiple openings frame views of the garden, while a yellow slide offers a playful exit route.

 

read more here

 

 

 

SIX-SEAT FOREST BAR PAVILION BY ELMGREEN & DRAGSET 


images by Andrea Rossetti, courtesy of Khao Yai Art

 

Elmgreen & Dragset unveil K-BAR, a six-seat cocktail pavilion tucked deep within Thailand’s Khao Yai Art Forest, inserting an urban typology into a remote natural setting. Appearing most days as a charcoal-gray sculptural object amid dense foliage, the pavilion occasionally comes to life: visitors arriving at the right moment are guided through the forest to find the bar glowing from within.

 

Inside, stainless steel surfaces, dark wood, red leather stools, terrazzo flooring, and a backlit display channel the intimacy of classic metropolitan bars. A permanently installed 1996 painting by Martin Kippenberger, visible even when the bar is closed, anchors the installation, paying homage to the artist’s legacy and echoing Elmgreen & Dragset’s long-standing interest in ‘denials,’ functional forms that resist predictable use.

 

Open only once a month, K-BAR plays with visibility, access, and displacement, placing a European artwork in a Southeast Asian forest as a subtle inversion of museum repatriation debates. As part of the newly launched Khao Yai Art Forest, the pavilion underscores the initiative’s mission to merge contemporary art with ecological immersion, offering an unexpected moment of encounter in one of Thailand’s most pristine environments.

 

read more here 

 

 

 

LEOPOLD BANCHINI INSTALLS TIMBER BATHHOUSE IN SPAIN

 

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Leopold Banchini Architects installs Round About Baths at the Concéntrico Festival in Logroño, Spain, transforming the center of a traffic roundabout into a temporary public bathhouse. The circular timber structure reclaims an overlooked urban void, introducing cold-water basins, steam rooms, and changing areas that revive the communal spirit of historic public baths.

 

Built with a standard timber frame and clad in uncut wooden panels intended for reuse, the pavilion emphasizes material efficiency and circularity. High perimeter walls provide privacy while clearly marking the intervention within the car-dominated landscape, prompting visitors to reconsider how urban land is allocated and who it serves. By situating a shared bathing environment at the heart of a vehicular crossroads, Round About Baths challenges conventional urban hierarchies and highlights the potential of underutilized spaces. Once dismantled, the site returns to its previous state, but the project leaves behind a conceptual proposal.

 

read more here 

 

 

 

TOGUNA WORLD’S NOMADIC PAVILION LANDS IN ATHENS


all images courtesy of Toguna World

 

Toguna World’s immersive nomadic pavilion, The Sanctuary of Dreams, combines film, ritual, and collective storytelling within an inflatable structure presented as part of Plásmata 3 | We’ve met before, haven’t we? in Athens. Rooted in African philosophies of cyclical time and ancestral memory, the space invites visitors to enter barefoot and step into a meditative environment where a 44-minute, three-channel art film brings together animation, collage, soundscapes, and archival textures.

 

After the screening, participants join a guided reflection circle, contributing their visions to The Global Mapping of Dreams, a growing archive of future imaginaries from across Africa and its diaspora. Designed by Pierre-Christophe Gam, the pavilion functions as a contemporary ritual space, featuring dimmable lighting, scent, modular cushions, and spatial audio that shape an intimate environment for collective visioning. 

 

read more here

 

 

 

MERO STUDIOS BUILDS A PAVILION FROM 780 LEFTOVER BAGUETTES


all images by Paul Kozlowski

 

MERO Studios builds Paysage de Pain, a public pavilion made from 780 salvaged baguettes, turning surplus bread into a tactile, aromatic structure within the courtyard of Montpellier’s Hôtel de Lunas. Developed with the nonprofit Pain de L’Espoir, the installation reframes food waste as a spatial material, highlighting the staggering amount of unsold bread discarded daily in France.

 

Visitors move through warm, dough-scented walls that crack and age under the sun, transforming the pavilion into a living metaphor for nourishment, excess, and decay. Through its texture, smell, and temporal fragility, Paysage de Pain becomes a sensory monument to resourcefulness.

 

read more here

 

 

 

FEATHER-BLADE SEASIDE PAVILION SWAYS ON CHAISHAN ISLAND 

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image by Liang Wenjun

GN Architects’ Seaside Pavilion brings new life to the abandoned pier of Chaishan Island, introducing a wind-driven structure whose long white blades sway gently above the water. Designed as part of the Hello, Island revitalization initiative, the pavilion acts as a symbolic arrival point, a contemporary echo of traditional village entrances where large trees once anchored community gatherings.

 

Suspended from a prefabricated steel frame, 36 seven-meter blades move with the sea breeze, creating a rhythmic, feather-like choreography that mirrors the quiet landscape of the island. The installation repurposes the old cargo pier into a resting and meeting place for the elderly residents. Built with corrosion-resistant materials and high-strength fishing ropes for durability, the pavilion balances engineering precision with a sense of lightness. Its movement shifts from subtle to visible depending on the wind, transforming the site into a landmark that reconnects Chaishan’s past, present, and future through motion and placemaking.

 

read more here

 

 

 

MARINA TABASSUM’S 2025 SERPENTINE PAVILION OPENS IN LONDON


Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). exterior view. © Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) | image by Iwan Baan, courtesy of Serpentine

 

Marina Tabassum Architects’ A Capsule in Time was the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion, a modular timber structure that explores impermanence, light, and temporality within London’s Kensington Gardens. Composed of four translucent capsules aligned with Serpentine South’s historic bell tower, the pavilion filters daylight into shifting patterns, echoing the hydrologic landscapes of Bangladesh, where land continually forms, dissolves, and reappears.

 

A kinetic capsule allows sections of the pavilion to expand for public programs, while a ginkgo tree anchors the interior as a living symbol of resilience. Built entirely from wood and translucent polycarbonate, materials chosen for their reuse potential, the project embraces dry construction and adaptability, ensuring the pavilion continues its life beyond the summer season. Integrated bookshelves house a curated selection of texts spanning Bengali literature, ecology, and identity, including works banned in Bangladesh. Tabassum frames the pavilion as a place of quiet resistance and shared knowledge, offering a contemplative environment where ideas can circulate freely. 

 

read more here 

 

 

 

BAMBOO PAVILION ANCHORS YASMEEN LARI’S PONO VILLAGE


all images courtesy of Nyami Studio

 

Nyami Studio and Jack Rankin complete the Juliet Center in Sindh, Pakistan, a bamboo pavilion that anchors Yasmeen Lari’s zero-carbon Pono Village, a prototype community built in response to the devastating 2022 floods. The lightweight vaulted structure is shaped from bamboo, mud, lime, and thatch, translating vernacular forms into a modular, climate-resilient space designed for communal use. The pavilion offers an open, flexible environment for workshops, gatherings, and training programs, supporting Lari’s mission to empower local residents, particularly women, through hands-on construction and craft skills.

 

Two interlocking vaults span widely without internal columns, creating a breathable interior that can be adapted or expanded as the village evolves. Built using a combination of digital precision and traditional techniques, the project demonstrates how low-carbon materials can achieve structural complexity and durability in extreme climates. Hand-made mud tiles line the floor, and a woven thatch roof of locally harvested grass provides protection from heat and monsoon rains. 

 

read more here 

 

 

 

RAD+AR BUILDS WOVEN-BAMBOO CHICKEN COOP IN JAKARTA 


images courtesy of RAD+ar

 

RAD+ar designs the Chicken Hero Pavilion in Urban Forest Jakarta, carving a low, hill-like form into the landscape to house an educational chicken coop disguised as part of the terrain. The pavilion merges ecological performance with community engagement, inviting visitors through a tunnel-like opening into a space that promotes backyard poultry farming as a sustainable household practice. Inside, reclaimed bamboo forms a ventilated, daylight-filled structure optimized for animal comfort and waste management.

 

The pavilion processes organic waste from nearby restaurants, turning leaves and food scraps into compost and closing the loop by distributing fresh eggs daily, a live demonstration of a micro circular economy. As a temporary installation, the project functions both as a prototype for low-impact chicken coops and as a public learning space. It addresses Indonesia’s significant food waste challenges while breaking stigmas around small-scale poultry keeping. Blending into the park’s topography, the Chicken Hero Pavilion shows how simple construction and local materials can support inclusive education, environmental stewardship, and community-led sustainability.

 

read more here 

 

 

see designboom’s TOP 10 stories archive:

 

2024 — 2023 — 2022 — 2021 2020 — 2019 —  2018 — 2017 — 2016 — 2015 — 2014 — 2013

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elmgreen & dragset craft hyperrealistic cinemagoer sculptures in prada mode installation https://www.designboom.com/art/elmgreen-dragset-hyperrealistic-cinemagoer-sculptures-immersive-prada-mode-installation-london-10-17-2025/ Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:30:34 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=1159886 titled the audience, the project is at town hall in king’s cross, london, from october 17th to 19th, 2025, coinciding with frieze london.

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Prada mode london hosts elmgreen & dragset’s installation

 

Elmgreen & Dragset craft hyperrealistic cinemagoer sculptures in an immersive cinema installation for Prada Mode London. Titled The Audience, the project is at Town Hall in King’s Cross, London, from October 17th to 19th, 2025, coinciding with Frieze London. The temporary installation is part of Prada Mode, which is an ongoing global series of the brand focusing on site-specific events that combine art, design, and social experience. It has traveled to Osaka across a SANAA-designed pavilion as well as Tokyo with site-specific artworks curated by Kazuyo Sejima. Even Theaster Gates has created sonic and spatial immersion at Prada Mode in Abu Dhabi as well as in London, while the one in LA was transformed by Carsten Höller into the dubbed Prada Double Club carnival wonderland. 

 

The continuing theme is always interaction between the space, sculptures, and the viewers. In Prada Mode London, artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset underline the act of watching and being watched, as their immersive installation transforms the restored Town Hall building into a working cinema. Inside, visitors enter a space designed to function both as an exhibition and as a performance site, where the central features include the hyperrealistic cinemagoers made of silicone, a series of plush seats reminiscent of the ones found in Milan’s Fondazione Prada, and a looping blurry film that discusses the age of image overload, hyperconnectivity, and attention deficit.

elmgreen dragset prada mode
all images courtesy of Elmgreen & Dragset and Prada

 

 

Hyperrealistic sculptures explore theme of hyperconnectivity

 

The heart of The Audience is the short, intentionally blurred film being played in the immersive cinema installation, created still by Elmgreen & Dragset. The film plays on a continuous loop, repeating a scene in which a painter and a writer talk about their creative work while inside their flat. It doesn’t have a clear resolution or ending but runs repeatedly, creating a sense of continuous observation. In the cinema space co-designed with the brand, five life-sized hyperrealistic sculptures occupy the seats, modeled to resemble ordinary audience members. Each one is positioned differently – some appear attentive, others distracted – showing different ways people watch or lose focus during a film. These sculptures are immobile, forming part of the installation’s reflection on spectatorship.

 

The installation extends outside the cinema hall with another sculptural work titled The Conversation. This piece features a female figure seated at a café table in the lobby, steeped in a video call with one of the film’s characters. It feels like the cinema scene and this sculpture create a loop between real and fictional space, with the visitors watching the sculptures and them watching the living people in return with their frozen states and stares, blurring the distinction between audience and subject. For Prada Mode London, the artists Elmgreen & Dragset explore how people interact with images in a world of continuous media exposure and hyperconnectivity. 

elmgreen dragset prada mode
Elmgreen & Dragset craft hyperrealistic cinemagoer sculptures for Prada Mode London

 

 

Restoring Town Hall in King’s Cross as temporary cinema

 

The Town Hall in King’s Cross was restored and repurposed for Elmgreen & Dragset’s installation with Prada Mode London. The brand’s team collaborated with the artists to adapt the interior into a functioning cinema installation, with the layout including a projection area, fixed seating for both sculptures and visitors, and controlled lighting to support the film projection. Materials were selected for both functionality and preservation of the building, such as temporary walls and sound insulation panels that maintain acoustic balance. The hyperrealistic cinemagoer sculptures were made using silicone, resin, fiberglass, and human hair to reproduce realistic surfaces and textures. 

 

In addition to the main installation, Prada Mode London features a series of events exploring the idea of spectatorship. The schedule includes artist talks, discussions, film screenings, performances, and DJ sets, and these activities examine how audiences engage with visual culture and digital media. The temporary installation by Elmgreen & Dragset at Prada Mode London runs from October 15th to 19th, 2025, with the first two days of the event functioning as a private members club. During this period, invited guests can preview the installation and attend smaller discussions in a more controlled environment. From October 17th to 19th, the venue opens to the public, allowing wider access to the installation and associated programming.

elmgreen dragset prada mode
titled The Audience, the project is at Town Hall in King’s Cross, London

elmgreen dragset prada mode
visitors enter a space designed to function both as an exhibition and as a performance site

elmgreen dragset prada mode
some hyperrealistic sculptures appear attentive, while others distracted

the hyperrealistic cinemagoers made of silicone
the hyperrealistic cinemagoers made of silicone

elmgreen-dragset-hyperrealistic-cinemagoer-sculptures-immersive-installation-prada-designboom-ban

the project remains on-site until October 19th, 2025

 

project info:

 

name: The Audience

artists: Elmgreen & Dragset | @elmgreenanddragsetstudio

brand: Prada | @prada

event: Prada Mode London

dates: October 15th to 19th, 2025

location: Town Hall in King’s Cross, London, UK

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‘the alice in wonderland syndrome’ marks elmgreen & dragset’s first solo show in los angeles https://www.designboom.com/art/alice-wonderland-syndrome-elmgreen-dragset-first-solo-show-los-angeles-pace-gallery-08-29-2025/ Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:30:57 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=1151986 elmgreen & dragset’s 'alice in wonderland syndrome' at pace gallery LA explores scale and perception with mirrored skies and marble figures.

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Elmgreen & Dragset arrive in Los Angeles

 

Pace Gallery presents The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, the first solo exhibition in Los Angeles by Elmgreen & Dragset, on view from September 13th through October 25th. Spanning the gallery’s main space and adjoining south gallery, the show explores shifts in perception through acts of doubling, resizing, and spatial reduplication.

 

The Berlin-based duo, known for sculptural interventions that probe identity and belonging, uses the gallery’s architecture as both stage and subject. Each artwork appears at full scale in the main hall, while exact half-size versions are replicated in a carefully constructed miniature of that same space.

Pace Gallery Elmgreen & Dragset
Elmgreen & Dragset, installation view, 2025 © Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

 

The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome explores Scale and Perception

 

Elmgreen & Dragset’s Pace Gallery exhibition takes its title from Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, a neurological condition also called Dysmetropsia, in which distortions of size and distance alter one’s sense of reality. The artists translate this condition into sculptural form by choreographing encounters that slip between real and imagined dimensions.

 

The sequence begins at the gallery‘s reception desk, where a hyper realistic sculpture of a gallery assistant appears to have fallen asleep. From there, visitors enter a terrain where objects expand and contract, as though conjured in her dream. The doubling of artworks across the two gallery spaces underscores the instability of perception, inviting viewers to inhabit the logic of distortion.

Pace Gallery Elmgreen & Dragset
Elmgreen & Dragset, September 2025, 2025 © Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

 

reflections of the sky illuminate pace gallery

 

Among the new works featured throughout Pace Gallery are pieces from the Elmgreen & Dragset’s Sky Target series — circular paintings of drifting clouds rendered on mirror-polished stainless steel disks. Each disk overlays atmospheric fragments with reflective surfaces, merging images of the sky with glimpses of the viewer. Named after locations significant to the artists, the works stage a layered interplay between representation and reflection.

 

Two additional wall works, referred to by the artists as ‘stripe paintings,’ further this investigation. Vertical bands of sky streaked with contrails alternate with mirrored strips, establishing a rhythm that is activated by movement through the space. The works extend the dialogue between transparency and opacity, image and self-awareness.

Pace Gallery Elmgreen & Dragset
Elmgreen & Dragset, The Other David, 2025 © Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

 

Placed within both the main gallery and its half-scale counterpart are two marble sculptures that address contemporary conditions of disconnection. One shows two young men in an embrace, each wearing VR goggles, while another depicts a seated figure listening through headphones. The pairing contrasts the immateriality of digital immersion with the permanence of marble, a material tied to centuries of sculptural history.

 

By grounding mediated experiences in carved stone, Elmgreen & Dragset draw attention to the friction between fleeting virtual engagement and enduring physical presence. The figures appear at once absorbed and isolated, their intimacy mediated by devices that redirect awareness elsewhere.

Pace Gallery Elmgreen & Dragset
Elmgreen & Dragset, Il Cielo Sopra Venezia, 2025 © Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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Elmgreen & Dragset, installation view, 2025 © Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

project info:

 

exhibition title: The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

artist: Elmgreen & Dragset | @elmgreenanddragsetstudio

gallery: Pace Gallery | @pacegallery

location: 1201 South La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California

dates: September 13th — October 25th, 2025

photography: © Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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works by louise bourgeois, elmgreen & dragset and more emerge in thai khao yai art forest https://www.designboom.com/art/louise-bourgeois-elmgreen-dragset-khao-yai-forest-thailand-02-07-2025/ Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:50:14 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=1114931 nestled in the verdant mountains of pong ta long, the khao yai art forest emerges as thailand’s newest art and nature sanctuary.

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khao yai art forest opens in thailand

 

Nestled in the verdant mountains of Pong Ta Long, the Khao Yai Art Forest emerges as Thailand’s newest art and nature sanctuary. Spanning 210 acres, this expansive site offers a unique space where artistic expression and ecological awareness intersect, creating an environment where both can thrive. The institution, named SilaPaa—derived from the Thai words Silapa (Art) and Paa (Forest)—embodies a vision to foster innovative artistic endeavors in harmony with the natural landscape. Interweaving works from renowned artists like Louise Bourgeois, Elmgreen & Dragset (see designboom’s coverage here), Fujiko Nakaya, and more, the Art Forest transforms the natural landscape into a living gallery, where site-specific installations and large-scale commissions invite visitors to experience art as an extension of the environment. 


Richard Long, Madrid Circle | all images courtesy of Khao Yai Art Forest

 

 

An Eclectic Collection of Site-Specific Works

 

The Khao Yai Art Forest serves as a dynamic platform that enables artists to bring ambitious projects to life—works that might otherwise be constrained by scale or environment. The institution supports these creative pursuits through a variety of initiatives, including artist commissions, curated exhibitions, and site-specific installations. With a focus on both Thai and international artists, the program emphasizes themes of environmental healing and sustainability. But healing here extends beyond conventional notions of wellness. Rather than merely reflecting on nature, Art Forest invites artists and visitors alike to engage directly with the environment—recovering its lost intricacies and embracing the symbiosis between art and the natural world.

 

The inaugural installations at Art Forest showcase a diverse array of voices and artistic practices, unified by a commitment to nature, mindfulness, and cultural dialogue. Highlights include Fujiko Nakaya’s ethereal Fog Forest, Francesco Arena’s monumental stone sculpture GOD, and Ubatsat’s earth-centered piece Pilgrimage to Eternity. A playful homage to Martin Kippenberger comes in the form of K-BAR, crafted by the artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, known for the iconic Prada Marfa installation. Scattered throughout the forest, visitors will also encounter works by renowned artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Richard Long, Richard Nonas, and Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, each contributing to the evolving narrative of art in nature.


Louise Bourgeois, Maman


Fujiko Nakaya, Khao Yai Fog Forest


Elmgreen & Dragset, K-BAR

louise-bourgeois-elmgreen-dragset-khao-yai-art-forest-thailand-designboom-full-01

Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Two Planets Series


Ubatsat, Pilgrimage to Eternity


Francesco Arena, GOD

 

 

project info: 

 

name: Khao Yai Art Forest | @khaoyai_art_forest
location: Pong Ta Long, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

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elmgreen & dragset’s six-seat bar pavilion appears like a mirage in thai art forest https://www.designboom.com/design/elmgreen-dragsets-six-seat-bar-pavilion-mirage-thai-art-forest-01-31-2025/ Fri, 31 Jan 2025 11:00:15 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=1113470 open once a month, the site-specific installation takes cues from classic metropolitan bars, with a stainless steel, wood counters and leather stools.

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Elmgreen & Dragset bring intimate cocktail bar to thai art forest

 

Elmgreen & Dragset introduce K-BAR, a site-specific installation hidden deep within Thailand’s Khao Yai Art Forest. Like their 2005 Prada Marfa, the project explores displacement, introducing an urban typology within a remote natural setting. Opening on February 1st, 2025, the intimate pavilion, seating just six guests, pays homage to German artist Martin Kippenberger and his well-known love of alcohol. 

 

On most days, visitors will encounter K-BAR as a sculptural entity, a charcoal-gray pavilion emerging from the dense forest like a mirage. However, those who arrive at the right moment will be guided through the darkened landscape to find the warm glow of the bar. The interior references classic metropolitan bars, with a stainless steel and dark wood counter, red leather stools, terrazzo flooring, and a backlit shelving display.


all images by Andrea Rossetti, courtesy of Khao Yai Art, unless stated otherwise

 

 

K-BAR’s interior echoes classic metropolitan bars

 

Open only once a month, the bar features a permanently installed Kippenberger painting from 1996, visible through a glass door even when the space is closed. This interplay between visibility and inaccessibility aligns with Elmgreen & Dragset’s concept of ‘denials’—sculptural works that appear functional yet resist immediate interaction. At the K-BAR, visitors can order from a menu curated by the artist duo in collaboration with a local mixologist, including drinks such as the Dry Martin, a nod to Kippenberger’s legacy.

 

Beyond its conceptual framework, the installation engages with contemporary cultural discourse. The decision to install a European painting in a remote Southeast Asian forest inverts traditional debates on the repatriation of looted artifacts, posing a provocative question: What if Western museums were required to send significant artworks to Asia in exchange for colonial-era objects in their collections?


the project explores displacement | image by Andrea Rossetti, courtesy of Galerie Max Hetzler

 

 

Khao Yai Art Forest introduces site-specific artworks

 

The Khao Yai Art Forest, founded by philanthropist and art patron Marisa Chearavanont, officially opens in February 2025 as a cultural destination where contemporary art and nature coexist. A key initiative within Khao Yai Art—alongside the Bangkok Kunsthalle—the forest welcomes site-specific artworks within its lush landscape, emphasizing the healing power of nature. With a commitment to organic farming and sustainability, the project fosters a deeper connection between art, ecology, and well-being, offering a rare opportunity to engage with art pieces in one of Thailand’s most pristine environments.


introducing an urban typology within a remote natural setting


the intimate pavilion, seating just six guests, pays homage to German artist Martin Kippenberger


those who arrive at the right moment will be guided to find the warm glow of the bar


the interior references classic metropolitan bars

elmgreen-dragsets-six-seat-bar-pavilion-mirage-thai-art-forest-designboom-1800-03

complete with with a stainless steel and wood counter, leather stools, terrazzo flooring, and a backlit shelving display


the curated menu includes cocktails like Dry Martin | image via @elmgreenanddragsetstudio


the bar features a permanently installed Kippenberger painting from 1996 | image via @elmgreenanddragsetstudio

elmgreen-dragsets-six-seat-bar-pavilion-mirage-thai-art-forest-designboom-1800-01

the installation engages with contemporary cultural discourse

 

project info:

 

name: K-BAR, 2024

designer: Elmgreen & Dragset | @elmgreenanddragsetstudio
location: Khao Yai Art Forest | @khaoyai_art_forest, Thailand

dimensions: 395 x 610 x 760 centimeters
opening date: 1 February, 2025

 

photographer: Andrea Rossetti 

 

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: thomai tsimpou | designboom

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elmgreen & dragset on australian museum debut and joining NGV’s permanent collection https://www.designboom.com/art/elmgreen-dragset-sculptures-ngv-permanent-collection-interview-04-09-2024/ Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:50:56 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=1057508 'we try to leave our works as open to interpretation as possible,' elmgreen & dragset share in an interview with designboom.

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Elmgreen & Dragset at the national gallery of victoria

 

During the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Triennial, Berlin-based artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset presented four iconic sculptural works, each crafted from distinct mediums and expressing unique themes. These pieces have now been acquired to enrich NGV’s permanent collection, marking the duo’s debut in an Australian public museum. The selection includes a variety of works, including an all-white sculpture of a painter, a hyperrealistic human figure suspended from the ceiling, a reflective stainless steel sculpture of a photographer on a balcony, and a pile of clothes and underwear in a corner that piques curiosity. 

 

‘The sculptures were chosen in close dialogue with the NGV, who wanted to include four sculptures that distinctly represented the different ways we deal with figuration,’ the artists reveal. To celebrate this milestone, designboom interviewed with the artists, delving into this significant moment in their careers and their artistic perspectives. ‘We try to leave our works as open to interpretation as possible and like to see the audience as an active component in completing the narratives,’ Elmgreen & Dragset share. Read the interview in full, below.


installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy

 

 

interview with Elmgreen & Dragset

 

designboom (DB): What were the criteria used in choosing the four sculptures shown and to be permanently acquired by the NGV Triennial? Why were these four chosen out of all your work?

 

Elmgreen & Dragset (E&D): The sculptures were chosen in close dialogue with the NGV, who wanted to include four sculptures that distinctly represented the different ways we deal with figuration. The earliest sculpture, a readymade consisting of two pairs of jeans and underwear lying directly on the floor is gestural and very straightforward (Powerless Structures, Fig.91). The white lacquered bronze work, The Painter, Fig.1, demonstrates how we play with the visual language of both classical sculpture and modernist art ideals in our practice. The polished stainless steel photographer, The Examiner, literally reflects its surroundings and is an example of how we sometimes reverse the idea of voyeurism in our art, as well as our preoccupation with the line between inside and outside, inclusion and exclusion. What’s Left?, the fourth sculpture, is a hyper-realistic figure made of silicone and human hair, dressed in typical street clothing. This sculpture refers back to our origins as performance artists and creates a different kind of performative tension between viewer and artwork—there’s a sort of storytelling involved, an implied before and after.


installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy

 

 

DB: From your own interpretation, can you share what came before and what happened next to each of the four sculptures chosen for the new permanent collection?

 

E&D: We try to leave our works as open to interpretation as possible and like to see the audience as an active component in completing the narratives. We are very inspired by films, but find that they often dictate the audience’s thoughts and feelings about different characters and situations. Sometimes it feels as if we are being told too much and that there’s not enough room left for one’s own interpretation. As a kind of antidote to this, we provide only hints about our characters and their stories. If a viewer can come away their own ideas about a certain work, that’s only a good thing.


Michael Elmgreen with the Elmgreen & Dragset work The Examiner 2023 on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Amelia Dowd

 

 

DB: What kinds of materials do you usually work with and have you encountered challenges with any specific ones? Are there any new materials you’re interested in exploring for future projects?

 

E&D: We work in a number of materials, from silicone to stainless steel to marble, just to name a few. We occasionally experiment with rendering the same motif in a variety of materials. For instance, a sculpture made of realistic silicone versus marble evokes distinct associations—and viewers react to them differently—even if the pose and expression are otherwise identical. Currently, we are working on a new set of sculptures in glass. It’s a compelling material both due to its translucency and fragility but also because it is challenging to control; it almost takes on a performative quality in its fluidity.


installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work What’s Left, Fig. 2, purchased with funds donated by Barry Janes & Paul Cross, on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy

 

DB: Do you have specific social themes you aim to address through your sculptures?

 

E&D: Throughout our thirty years of collaboration, we have of course addressed a number of themes, often directly related to the site where a work is first exhibited. But some general threads can be found through our oeuvre, such as queer issues, social exclusion, loneliness, the challenges of childhood, spatial control mechanisms, the role of the body in the digital era, and the shifting borders between private and public. The Examiner is a unique expression of some of these themes. Like in many of our sculptures, this work depicts a solitary male figure. Here, he is alone on a balcony, an architectural element that occupies a fascinating space hovering somewhere between private and public. With his camera, there is also a strange sense of being watched.

elmgreen-dragset-interview-designboom-fulll-01

installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work The Painter, Fig. 1, purchased with funds donated by Michael & Emily Tong, on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy

DB: You mentioned in the video that your sculptural works are based on the reaction you feel and give to what’s happening around you. What led you to choose sculpture as your primary medium for expressing these reactions over other art forms?

 

E&D: Sculpture is only one of the mediums we use, and even when we make them, they often relate to space in specific ways. Again, as former performance artists, we are interested in the tension between our bodies and personal space in relation to the larger public sphere. We have always been concerned with how our bodies are controlled by both societal norms and architectural structures. Sculpture is a useful medium for exploring this process; when we create life-size, realistic sculptures, their mere presence can raise questions about or highlight certain aspects of the space they are in.


installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work The Examiner, acquired by the Felton Bequest, on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy

 

DB: Have you noticed any shifts in the perceived value of social sculptures over time? If so, in what ways?

 

E&D: We’ve noticed a growing interest in sculpture in recent years, particularly in public spaces. As the world has moved more and more online, there seems to be a simultaneous realization that we also have the need to gather physically, around something that is tangible, present, and can bring about some sense of ‘togetherness.’ Even if there’s disagreement over the artwork itself, having something to disagree about can create a sense of community. Our public sculpture Han, which is located along the water in Elsinore, Denmark, is based on The Little Mermaid sculpture in Copenhagen but takes the form of a young man. Before it was unveiled, it ignited a debate on how masculinity should be presented, considering the site was part of a former shipyard. Some people were against the sculpture, but we were nevertheless heartened to see that public art can cultivate a space for such conversations. And in the end, when the sculpture was finally installed, lots of people showed up for the inauguration, and were discussed other things, such as the material, the finish, and the way the sculpture reflected the city and the sea.


installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work The Examiner, acquired by the Felton Bequest, on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy

 

DB: These four sculptural works at the NGV Triennial are your first pieces to enter an Australian public museum. How do you feel about this? Are you looking into growing your permanent collections for museums around Australia?

 

E&D: We are not actively working on promoting our own art in that way, but we would of course be very happy to enter dialogues with other Australian institutions. As for the presentation of our work at NGV, it is always nice to see our work in museums that contextualize it in new ways. For the Triennale, it was interesting to see four of our sculptures, each in distinct mediums, displayed together for the first time. 

 


installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work The Painter, Fig. 1, purchased with funds donated by Michael & Emily Tong, on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy


installation view of Elmgreen & Dragset’s work Powerless Structures, Fig. 91, purchased by NGV Foundation, on display in NGV Triennial at NGV International, Melbourne | photo: Sean Fennessy

 

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READ: elmgreen & dragset create a curious public library at kunsthalle praha https://www.designboom.com/art/read-elmgreen-dragset-curious-public-library-kunsthalle-praha-12-07-2023/ Thu, 07 Dec 2023 11:50:52 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=1035104 centered on the enduring significance of books, the exhibition prompts contemplation on our connection with books as physical objects amidst the digital age.

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Elmgreen & Dragset present ‘READ’ at Kunsthalle Praha

 

For their first major exhibition in the Czech Republic, Elmgreen & Dragset reimagine Kunsthalle Praha as a curious public library. Titled READ, the showcase pays homage to Prague’s literary heritage and brings together works by the artist duo as well as sixty international artists. Centered on the historical and enduring significance of books, the exhibition presents itself as a minimalist rendition of a modern public library, prompting contemplation on our connection with books as physical objects amidst the digital age. The title READ serves a dual purpose, encouraging not only the act of reading, but also learning and understanding, as in ‘read the signs,’ ‘read a situation,’ and ‘read the room’.


Elmgreen & Dragset: READ exhibition view | image by Vojtěch Veškrna

 

 

A Journey into Kunsthalle Praha’s Collection

 

The READ exhibition finds its roots in an initial encounter with Giorgio de Chirico’s Les jouets défendus (1916) (Forbidden Toys), a pivotal piece in Kunsthalle Praha’s Collection. This mysterious painting, featuring nameless books depicted as geometric shapes in an enigmatic setting, sparked the curiosity of Elmgreen & Dragset (find more here), prompting them to delve deeper into the Collection of Kunsthalle Praha (find more here) to discover works that echo de Chirico’s metaphysical portrayal of books.

 

Building on their recent spatial interventions in exhibitions like Bonne Chance at Centre Pompidou – Metz and Useless Bodies at Fondazione Prada (see designboom’s previous coverage here), READ seamlessly blends a nostalgic nod to the 20th century with a contemporary exploration of pressing issues. This fusion sets the stage for future discussions. In READ, Elmgreen & Dragset view the library not only as a crucial space for knowledge-sharing but also as a provider of essential services, particularly given recent cuts to social safety nets. As digital spaces progressively replace physical ones, the artists subtly probe the future trajectory of public libraries.


Elmgreen & Dragset: READ exhibition view | image by Vojtěch Veškrna

 

 

Familiar library Structures and Elmgreen & Dragset’s durational Performance

 

In Gallery 1, visitors will encounter a familiar library setup with bookshelves, an information desk, reading tables, and a restroom. The space will feature strategically placed artworks, some hidden among the bookshelves. The exhibition also includes the fifth iteration of Elmgreen & Dragset’s durational performance, Diaries. Initially presented as Paris Diaries in 2003, subsequent versions were showcased in Istanbul (2013), Hong Kong (2015), and Dallas Diaries (2019). In Prague Diaries, five young men will sit at a long table during Wednesdays and weekends, inviting observers to witness them writing in their diaries. Visitors are encouraged to freely move around, read over the performers’ shoulders, and peruse the notebooks during breaks.

 

In Gallery 2, Elmgreen & Dragset disrupt traditional library structures by making certain elements inaccessible. Bookshelves hang upside down from the ceiling, and deteriorating, unclimbable stairs lead to a door marked Filozofie (Philosophy). The space features paper works displayed in large glass vitrines, overseen by The Guardian, a sculpture created specifically for the READ exhibition. Another installation highlights recently banned books, emphasizing the lasting importance of libraries as repositories of knowledge. This exhibit seeks to establish a connection between present-day political turmoil and the challenges experienced by totalitarian regimes in the past.


Elmgreen & Dragset: READ exhibition view | image by Vojtěch Veškrna


Elmgreen & Dragset, Point of View, Part 1, 2023, © Elmgreen & Dragset | image by Vojtěch Veškrna


Elmgreen & Dragset, The Guardian, 2023 © Elmgreen & Dragset | image by Vojtěch Veškrna


Elmgreen & Dragset, I, 2023, © MASSIMODECARLO | image by Vojtěch Veškrna


Emory Douglas, Black Studies, 1970s | image © Emory Douglas Kunsthalle Praha (Vojtěch Veškrna)


Slavs and Tatars, Kitab Kebab (Lviv and Wrocław), 2021, photo © Slavs and Tatars Kunsthalle Praha (Vojtěch Veškrna)


Elmgreen & Dragset: READ exhibition view | image by Vojtěch Veškrna


Elmgreen & Dragset, Other Lovers, 2018 | image by Vojtěch Veškrna


Elmgreen & Dragset, Value System, 2023, © Elmgreen & Dragset | image by Vojtěch Veškrna


Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Paul B. Preciado, Une Valise Transféministe, 2019, photo © Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Paul B. Preciado and Esther Schipper

 

 

 

project info: 

 

name: READ
artist: Elmgreen & Dragset | @elmgreenanddragsetstudio
location: Kunsthalle Praha | @kunsthallepraha in Prague, Czech Republic
dates: 16 November 2023 – 22 April 2024

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elmgreen & dragset drastically transform centre pompidou-metz into artificial environments https://www.designboom.com/architecture/elmgreen-dragset-centre-pompidou-metz-artificial-environments-bonne-chance-04-09-2023/ Sun, 09 Apr 2023 16:01:23 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=981604 'bonne chance' will bring together both existing and recent sculptures, inviting onlookers to discover the limits between the fictional and the real.

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‘Bonne Chance’ by Elmgreen & Dragset

 

From 10 June 2023 to 1 April 2024, Center Pompidou-Metz will host ‘Bonne Chance’ by Elmgreen & Dragset, a solo exhibition that presents seemingly familiar environments from our daily life. Known for their emblematic way of drastically transforming exhibition spaces into temporary artificial environments, the artist duo had presented ‘Useless Bodies?’ at the Prada Foundation in Milan, showcasing a series of different universes. This year, the show curated by Chiara Parisi will take over several spaces of the museum, including the Grande Nef, the Forum, and the roof top gallery, inviting visitors to face the paradox in Elmgreen & Dragset’s dream-like maze.  

 

‘Bonne Chance’ will bring together both existing and recent sculptures, unfolding scenes in a computer game-like layout, where visitors are called upon to navigate and discover the limits between the fictional and the real. By replicating common urban settings, the artists seek to create unique spatial environments that ‘seem strangely incongruous within an art institution.’ Life-like silicone figures placed in various mundane everyday rituals engage spectators in a more detailed investigation, inviting them to take on the role of witnesses, intruders, or detectives. Walking through the spaces, they seek to connect together different clues and craft their own scenarios, unraveling the narratives hidden behind the plastic protagonists. elmgreen & dragset drastically transform centre pompidou-metz into artificial environments

The Outsiders, 2020 Courtesy: Pace Gallery © Studio Elmgreen & Dragset / Adagp, Paris, 2023 – Photo: Elmar Vestner

 

 

inside Elmgreen & Dragset’s a labyrinthine space

 

In the middle of the forum is a full-scale apartment building, ‘The One & the Many’ an ‘unexpected structure that reshapes the usual experience of Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines’ architecture. The artists believe that every space has a hidden alter-ego that they hope to reveal through alteration or displacement. In The One & the Many, they recreated an East German social housing block, a so-called ‘plattenbau’, commonly seen in Berlin.΄ Visitors can see the building only from the outside, while all the windows are wrapped in blinds or curtains. Next to the house is parked an old Mercedes estate car with two men figures embraced in the trunk, surrounded by materials indicating they are art handlers.

 

The show unfolds in different ordinary spaces, including a theatre auditorium, a public restroom, a laboratory, a conference room, a morgue, a CCTV surveillance room, and an office landscape. However, these day-to-day settings follow a nonsensical narrative that no longer applies normal rules. Thus, the spaces start to create a sense of discomfort and unease, while the uncanniness intensifies as the viewer comes across peculiar characters. Although it follows a computer game-like map with the unexpected being at its core, ‘Bonne Chance’ provides a glimpse of hope and underlines that ‘it is not a matter of chance but maybe of choice’. To that, Elmgreen & Dragset have added,‘these structures, unlike those in a computer game, always can change or be interchanged. Only as long as we in a society accept the structures that hold up power, does power stay the way it is’.

 

 

elmgreen & dragset drastically transform centre pompidou-metz into artificial environments
The One & The Many, 2010 et The Outsiders, 2020 © Adagp, Paris 2022 © Studio Elmgreen & Dragset

 


Untitled, 2011 © Studio Elmgreen & Dragset / Adagp, Paris, 2023 – Photo: Guillaume Ziccarelli


What‘s Left?, 2021 © Adagp, Paris 2022 – Photo: Elmar Vestner

 

 

project info:

 

name: Bonne Chance
artists: Elmgreen & Dragset | @elmgreenanddragsetstudio

location: Grande Nef, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Paris

dates: 10.06.23 to 01.04.24

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olafur eliasson uses 832 colored glass tiles for vertical panorama pavilion at donum estate https://www.designboom.com/architecture/olafur-eliasson-vertical-panorama-pavilion-donum-estate-08-02-2022/ Tue, 02 Aug 2022 10:30:21 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=918977 the vertical panorama pavilion at the donum estate captures the yearly averages of solar radiance, wind intensity, temperature, and humidity.

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vertical panorama pavilion by studio other spaces

 

The Donum Estate introduces its new site-specific construction Vertical Panorama Pavilion, a mosaic-inspired canopy designed by the Berlin-based office Studio Other Spaces that artist Olafur Eliasson and architect Sebastian Behmann founded. The cone-shaped architecture in California is dedicated to wine-tasting in the open, intending to combine the essence of senses and surroundings through spatial experimentation.

 

The approach of Studio Other Spaces aims to capture the abstract calendar that depicts yearly averages of solar radiance, wind intensity, temperature, and humidity, drawing their research from meteorology, or the study of the atmosphere and the motions within it. Rather than just putting up a conical canopy, the studio studied the space and centered the architecture on a northern-oriented oculus. They employed 832 colored, laminated glass panels in 24 color variations, translucency, and transparency to guarantee that the result would reflect the surrounding local environment and winery architecture of Sonoma Valley.

 

The journey begins by walking on the gravel path, soaking in the sound of nature from the rustling grass to the chirping insect as one moves forward, and arriving at the pavilion. Looking up, a circular opening offers a view of the sky from below, all the while basking in the spectrum of colors the glass tiles confer the space and visitors. The maze ends with seating areas divided by low-height separations made of bricks and adorned with cushions and earthly colors.  From afar, the colossal installation may, at first, steal the limelight of the landscape, but soon, drawn from the color studies the studio conformed to, the shades of its surroundings overlap until Vertical Panorama Pavilion blends in with the environment.

vertical panorama pavilion donum estate
all images © Vertical Panorama Pavilion at the Donum Estate, 2022, Studio Other Spaces – Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann | all photography by Adam Potts

 

 

Eliasson and Behmann on celebrating wine

 

The path leading to and from the pavilion rests on a surface topped with gravel, and the studio stacked the earth-colored bricks inside the canopy vertically to suggest the continuity of the architecture. The low-level division means visitors can still see the hillside around them as they continue their wine-tasting experience. ‘While walking along the path and into the pavilion, the wall grows higher until they finally reach eye level. Our eyes, ears, and nose are now in line with the turf, where earth and sky meet alongside rich biodiversity,’ the studio writes.

 

The gathering area finds itself under the eye of the canopy, and visitors sit on the benches that have been arranged according to group sizes. The studio intends the scene to be one’s body becoming physically aware of the land it is on, an element that heightens the sensory when visitors begin to taste the wine. For Donum Estate, Studio Other Spaces envisioned celebrating the wine on land and the microclimates that help ferment it. ‘The pavilion maps out the surrounding ephemera – the soil, vegetation, wind, sun, atmosphere, and rain – and incorporates these into the colorful canopy, reflecting the wine’s unique signature,’ writes Eliasson and Behmann.

 

To lean back and relax, to let the eyes wander from the hillside views to the sky through the oculus, and to focus on the glass tiles that form the weather calendar for visibility, wind intensity, temperature, and humidity. Vertical Panorama Pavilion wants to shift the attention of the visitors from the wine offerings of Donum Estate to the kaleidoscopic design of Studio Other Spaces, all while paying attention to the works of nature.

vertical panorama pavilion donum estate
832 colored glass tiles used in Vertical Panorama Pavilion to reflect meteorology

 

 

 

The Donum Collection and installations

 

The Donum Estate has collaborated with and hosted artist installations for years through The Donum Collection with more than 50 monumental works including the masterworks – ranging from sculptures to sound art – of Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama, Doug Aitken, Elmgreen & Dragset, and Ugo Rondinone. Vertical Panorama Pavilion by Studio Other Spaces is the new addition to its growing repertoire, the continuous dedication of the winery to balance wine, land, and art. Mei and Allan Warburg, the owners of The Donum Estate, restate this ethos as they view the pavilion as a blend of their passion between wine, nature,  art, design, and architecture.

 

‘It is an achievement of our continuous effort to enhance the sensorial discovery of sight, sound, and scent experiences for all our guests. We first walked the land in 2019 with Olafur. The sun gave contrast to a spectrum of colors, we took a sip of our Pinot Noir, and at that moment, Vertical Panorama Pavilion was born,’ shares the Warburgs. The Donum Estate plans to host wine-tasting and hospitality events within the newly launched pavilion where visitors can also witness the production facility and the biodynamic and organic farming practices of the land.

vertical panorama pavilion donum estate
seating areas

vertical panorama pavilion donum estate
earthy bricks are used to mirror the surroundings

vertical-panorama-pavilion-donum-estate-designboom-ban2

laminated glass tiles of the architecture

vertical panorama pavilion donum estate
inside the pavilion

close-up view of the canopy's reflection
close-up view of the canopy’s reflection

the oculus of the canopy
the oculus of the canopy

view from above
view from above

vertical-panorama-pavilion-donum-estate-designboom-ban

landscape view

 

project info:

 

name: Vertical Panorama Pavilion

designers: Studio Other Spaces – Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann

location: The Donum Estate, Northern Califonia, US

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useless bodies? elmgreen & dragset exhibition opens at fondazione prada in milan https://www.designboom.com/art/useless-bodies-elmgreen-dragset-exhibition-fondazione-prada-04-01-2022/ Fri, 01 Apr 2022 10:55:46 +0000 https://www.designboom.com/?p=888813 the exhibition explores the present condition of the body in the post-industrial age.

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Elmgreen & Dragset at Fondazione Prada

 

Elmgreen & Dragset explore the present condition of the body in the post-industrial age at Fondazione Prada‘s Milan venue. On view until August 22, 2022, ‘Useless Bodies?’ brings together a wide selection of the artist duo‘s sculptural and performative works in one of the foundation’s most ambitious thematic investigations to date. Spanning more than 3,000 sqm, the exhibition unfolds in four gallery spaces and the courtyard, which have been transformed into a series of different universes, each with its own atmosphere, theme, and aesthetic. Together, the spaces compose an immersive investigation of our physical presence in an increasingly digitized world, where the body is losing its centrality or is even completely superfluous.

 

our bodies are no longer the main agents of our existence,’ state Elmgreen & Dragset. ‘They don’t generate value in our societies’ advanced production methods as they did in the industrial era. One could claim our physical selves have even become more of an obstacle than an advantage. In the 19th century, the body was the producer of daily goods, whereas, in the 20th century, the body’s role became more that of the consumer. Twenty years into the 21st century the status of the body is now that of the product – with our data gathered and sold by Big Tech. With the publicly available knowledge surrounding the harvesting of data from tech companies being so inane, and the rapidly accelerating rate at which such companies are expanding into every aspect of our lives, it does sometimes feel a little scary to think about our bodies’ future role.’

 

Exhibition views of ‘Useless Bodies?’ by Elmgreen & Dragset Fondazione Prada, Milan | Photo: Andrea Rossetti, Courtesy: Fondazione Prada, unless stated otherwise
From left to right: Luigi Secchi, Al lido, post 1893 | Elmgreen & Dragset, Pregnant White Maid, 2017 | Elmgreen & Dragset, Invisible, 2017 | Elmgreen & Dragset, He (Silver), 2013
Header image: Elmgreen & Dragset, What’s Left?, 2021

 

 

THE IMMERSIVE INSTALLATIONS OF ‘USELESS BODIES?’

 

Elmgreen & Dragset‘s ‘Useless Bodies?’ exhibition unfolds as a path that starts from Fondazione Prada‘s Podium, to the Nord gallery, to the Cisterna and, finally, to the outdoor spaces. On the ground floor of the Podium, the duo’s works are exhibited alongside classical and neoclassical sculptures. This juxtaposition, inspired by Fondazione Prada’s inaugural exhibition ‘Serial Classic’, shows both similarities and differences in how artists have mediated the male body through sculptural practices spanning centuries. 

 

The second floor of the Podium is transformed into a vast, abandoned office landscape that explores the body’s changed role in the context of labor. The immersive installation comprises a repetitive pattern of seemingly endless rows of workstations that evoke dystopian movie sets from films such as Jacques Tati’s Playtime (1967) and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985).


From left to right: Elmgreen & Dragset, Watching, 2021 | Elmgreen & Dragset, For today I am a child, 2016

 

In the foundation’s Nord gallery, visitors encounter a futuristic vision of a domestic setting that fuses together elements of a bunker, a spaceship, and a science lab. This installation questions the way we exist in our homes today, especially now that we share them with technology to such a high degree. The audience is free to wander the space and explore the clinically designed objects, where they find a human body set halfway inside a mortuary refrigerator, and the only moving presence is that of a robotic dog. 

 

The fourth interior set up takes place in the Cisterna, where Elmgreen & Dragset look into how the wellness, leisure, and health industries pressure us to conform to new body ideals. The building’s three rooms are turned into a forsaken spa-like environment that includes an abandoned swimming pool and a locker room. ‘As our bodies are being rendered useless by technological innovations, the ever-expanding wellness, leisure, and health sectors are offering countless new ways to “solve the problem of the imperfect body”,’ reads the exhibition text. In the central room, a new work titled ‘What’s Left?’ explores the role of the body as a political actor or instrument of social change.


From left to right: Antinoo Farnese, II secolo | Elmgreen & Dragset Flo, 2020 | Luigi Secchi, Al lido, post 1893 | Bertel Thorvaldsen, Hyrdedreng, 1822-1825 [Pastore]

 

 

Finally, the outdoor spaces of Fondazione Prada host a number of sculptures that look into how our bodies are physically regulated in the public sphere. By slightly altering familiar, everyday objects, these works y encourage a re-evaluation of the ordinary and highlight how we negotiate the control mechanisms embedded in public spaces. The exhibition is accompanied by a 500-page publication titled ‘Useless Bodies?’, which is conceived as a thematic extension of the show, with multiple perspectives from over 35 authors —philosophers, artists, writers, scientists, and thinkers— addressing our changing perceptions of the body and its status today.


Image © designboom

useless-bodies-elmgreen-dragset-exhibition-fondazione-prada-designboom-laarge

From left to right: Corridore, I secolo a.C. | Elmgreen & Dragset, The Painter, Fig. 2, 2021 | Gladiatore Farnese, copia romana del 190-199, originale greco 460 a.C. ca. | Elmgreen & Dragset, Pregnant White Maid, 2017 | Atleta con strigile, 1938


Image © designboom


Elmgreen & Dragset Garden of Eden, 2022


From left to right: Elmgreen & Dragset, Doubt, 2019 | Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale. La fine di Dio, 1963


From left to right: Elmgreen & Dragset, Circulation, 2019 | Elmgreen & Dragset, Untitled, 2011 | Elmgreen & Dragset, Pollarded Tree, 2022


Elmgreen & Dragset, Untitled, 2011, Steel, wood, silicone, fabric, 343 x 457 x 218 cm, Courtesy: Perrotin, Photo by: Guillaume Ziccarelli


Image © designboom


From top to bottom, from left to right: Nancy Grossmann, Black, 1973–1974 | Elmgreen & Dragset, The Bed, 2019 | Elmgreen & Dragset, Looking Back, 2022 | Elmgreen & Dragset, Untitled (After The Lovers), 2015


In the foreground: Elmgreen & Dragset, Piscina di Largo Isarco, 2021 | In the background, from left to right: Elmgreen & Dragset, Too Heavy, 2017 | Elmgreen & Dragset, I must make amends, Fig. 2 , 2019

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In the foreground: Elmgreen & Dragset, Piscina di Largo Isarco, 2021 | In the background, from left to right: Elmgreen & Dragset, A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, 2021 | Elmgreen & Dragset, Free Play, 2018


Image © designboom


From left to right: Elmgreen & Dragset, Marriage, 2004 | Elmgreen & Dragset, The Touch, 2011


Elmgreen & Dragset at Fondazione Prada | Photo by Andrea Rossetti


Elmgreen & Dragset, What’s Left?, 2021


Elmgreen & Dragset, What’s Left?, 2021

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project info:

 

Name: Useless Bodies?

Artist: Elmgreen & Dragset

Location: Fondazione Prada

Duration: March 31 – August 22, 2022

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