Menu

Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller Revolving Doors, 2016 Mirrored revolving glass doors, aluminum, alucobond, and steel 219 3/4 × 219 3/4 × 89 3/4 inches (558 × 558 × 228 cm) Artwork © Carsten Höller, photo by Attilio Maranzano, courtesy Hayward, HangarBicocca

Carsten Höller Revolving Doors, 2016

Mirrored revolving glass doors, aluminum, alucobond, and steel 219 3/4 × 219 3/4 × 89 3/4 inches (558 × 558 × 228 cm) Artwork © Carsten Höller, photo by Attilio Maranzano, courtesy Hayward, HangarBicocca

Carsten Höller, Dice (White Body, Black Dots), 2014 Glass reinforced polyester resin / fiberglass, and poplar plywood on expanded poly-styrene core and mechanical connectors, 94 ½ × 94 ½ × 94 ½ inches (240 × 240 × 240 cm)

Carsten Höller, Dice (White Body, Black Dots), 2014

Glass reinforced polyester resin / fiberglass, and poplar plywood on expanded poly-styrene core and mechanical connectors, 94 ½ × 94 ½ × 94 ½ inches (240 × 240 × 240 cm)

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12 Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12

Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12 Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12

Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12 Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12

Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12 Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12

Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12 Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Experience, New Museum, New York, 2011–12

Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Benoit Pailley

Carsten Höller, 5 Giant Mushroom, 2009 Styrofoam, polyester paint, polyester resin, acrylic paint, core wire, surfacer, polyurethane foam, hard foam construction panels, steel, 5 parts: dimensions variable. Installation at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsPhoto by Attilio Maranzano / Courtesy the artist and Esther Schipper, Berlin

Carsten Höller, 5 Giant Mushroom, 2009

Styrofoam, polyester paint, polyester resin, acrylic paint, core wire, surfacer, polyurethane foam, hard foam construction panels, steel, 5 parts: dimensions variable. Installation at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Photo by Attilio Maranzano / Courtesy the artist and Esther Schipper, Berlin

Carsten Höller, Singing Canaries Mobile, 2009 Powdercoated steel construction, wood, PVC, Dimensions variable

Carsten Höller, Singing Canaries Mobile, 2009

Powdercoated steel construction, wood, PVC, Dimensions variable

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Reindeers & Spheres, Gagosian, Beverly Hills, California, 2009 Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Joshua White

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Reindeers & Spheres, Gagosian, Beverly Hills, California, 2009

Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: Joshua White

Carsten Höller, Wonderful, 2008 Aluminum channel letters, bulbs, DMX controller, 10 11/16 × 98 ½ × 4 inches (27.3 × 250.2 × 10.2 cm)Photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

Carsten Höller, Wonderful, 2008

Aluminum channel letters, bulbs, DMX controller, 10 11/16 × 98 ½ × 4 inches (27.3 × 250.2 × 10.2 cm)
Photo by Douglas M. Parker Studio

CARSTEN HÖLLER Light Room, 2008 Double LED lamps, aluminum sheeting, cables, controller system Dimensons variable Installation at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, photo by Markus Tretter / Courtesy the artist/VBK, Vienna

CARSTEN HÖLLER Light Room, 2008

Double LED lamps, aluminum sheeting, cables, controller system Dimensons variable Installation at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, photo by Markus Tretter / Courtesy the artist/VBK, Vienna

CARSTEN HÖLLER R B Ride, 2007 Carousel Dimensons variable Installation at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, photo by Markus Tretter / Courtesy the artist/VBK, Vienna

CARSTEN HÖLLER R B Ride, 2007

Carousel Dimensons variable Installation at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, photo by Markus Tretter / Courtesy the artist/VBK, Vienna

Carsten Höller, Lignano Ski Lab, 2007 Chromogenic print on aluminum, 58 11/16 × 46 5/16 inches (149 × 117.5 cm), edition 2/3

Carsten Höller, Lignano Ski Lab, 2007

Chromogenic print on aluminum, 58 11/16 × 46 5/16 inches (149 × 117.5 cm), edition 2/3

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Test Site, Tate Modern, London, 2006–07 Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: © Tate Photography

Installation view, Carsten Höller: Test Site, Tate Modern, London, 2006–07

Artwork © Carsten Höller. Photo: © Tate Photography

Carsten Höller, Carousel Mirror, 2006 Mirrors mounted on medium-density fiberboard panels, lightbulbs, stainless steel seats, stainless steel chains, steel construction, electric motor, and cables, 295 ¼ × 185 × 185 inches (750 × 470 × 470 cm)Installation at Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, England© Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller, Carousel Mirror, 2006

Mirrors mounted on medium-density fiberboard panels, lightbulbs, stainless steel seats, stainless steel chains, steel construction, electric motor, and cables, 295 ¼ × 185 × 185 inches (750 × 470 × 470 cm)
Installation at Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, England
© Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller, Carousel Mirror, 2005 Mirrors mounted on medium-density fiberboard panels, lightbulbs, stainless steel seats, stainless steel chains, steel construction, electric motor, and cables, 295 ¼ × 185 × 185 inches (750 × 470 × 470 cm)Installation at Gagosian, Britannia Street, London© Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller, Carousel Mirror, 2005

Mirrors mounted on medium-density fiberboard panels, lightbulbs, stainless steel seats, stainless steel chains, steel construction, electric motor, and cables, 295 ¼ × 185 × 185 inches (750 × 470 × 470 cm)
Installation at Gagosian, Britannia Street, London
© Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller, Flugmaschine (Flying Machine), 1996 Steel, electric motor, cable connections, paragliding harnews, grip, wood, Scanachrome on PVC, Approx. 196 ⅞ × 236 3/16 × 236 3/16 inches (500 × 600 × 600 cm)

Carsten Höller, Flugmaschine (Flying Machine), 1996

Steel, electric motor, cable connections, paragliding harnews, grip, wood, Scanachrome on PVC, Approx. 196 ⅞ × 236 3/16 × 236 3/16 inches (500 × 600 × 600 cm)

About

Carsten Höller applies scientific curiosity to his work as an artist, exploring human behavior, perception, and altered states of consciousness with playful, sometimes unsettling humor. Many of the projects that comprise his self-described “laboratory of doubt”—which range from twisting slides to vision-flipping goggles—incorporate disorienting, even hallucinatory experiences that prompt viewers to question how they see and understand the world around them.

Born in 1961 in Brussels to German parents, Höller began to make art in the late 1980s alongside a number of artists experimenting with space and experience such as Pierre Huyghe, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Andrea Zittel. After studying olfactory communication in insects at the University of Kiel, where he received a doctorate in agricultural science in 1988, and working as a research entomologist, he returned to art making full-time in 1993. Höller is often associated with relational aesthetics, a strategy, named by curator Nicolas Bourriaud in 1996, focused on human exchange and social context.

Among Höller’s early interactive projects are Flugmaschine (Flying Machine) (1996), a motorized steel armature to which viewers are attached before being hoisted through the air, and Giant Psycho Tank (1999), a sensory-deprivation chamber that facilitates a sensation of being bodiless. For the 1998 Berlin Biennale, Höller initiated what was to become his defining body of work, a succession of giant tubular slides that transform users’ experience of the buildings through which they move. In 2000 he installed a slide in the Milan office of designer Miuccia Prada, and in 2006 he constructed Test Site, a set of five slides in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, London. Höller is interested in the structures’ imposition of a temporary loss of control on participants, describing the resultant emotional state as “somewhere between delight and madness.”

Read more

Carsten Höller

Photo: John Scarisbrick

Fairs, Events & Announcements

Carsten Höller’s The Double Club Los Angeles, Luna Luna, Los Angeles, March 7–10, 2024. Artwork © Carsten Höller

Installation

Carsten Höller
The Double Club Los Angeles

March 7–10, 2024
Luna Luna, Los Angeles
lunaluna.com

Carsten Höller’s The Double Club Los Angeles transforms a vast warehouse in the heart of the Los Angeles Arts District, used by the Luna Luna team to unpack and reconstruct the rides on display in its restaging of the art amusement park, into a fanciful landscape. Now in its third incarnation, Höller’s installation begins with a single floor area and applies the mathematical rule of division by halving the footprint, while doubling it in height, to create nine unique spaces that deconstruct the carnival experience. The four-day event is presented by Prada Mode, in partnership with Luna Luna, and includes musical programming curated by the rapper Drake, who played a major role in bringing Luna Luna to LA, and Höller, who visited the park during its 1987 debut in Hamburg, Germany. The event is free and open to the public on March 9–10 with admission to Luna Luna.

Purchase Tickets

Carsten Höller’s The Double Club Los Angeles, Luna Luna, Los Angeles, March 7–10, 2024. Artwork © Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller, Decimal Clock (Blue and Orange), 2023 © Carsten Höller. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Visit

Noor Riyadh Festival 2023
The Bright Side of the Desert Moon

November 30–December 16, 2023
Various locations in Riyadh
riyadhart.sa

The third annual Noor Riyadh, a citywide festival of public art installations, will showcase expansive light-based artworks by more than one hundred artists across five pivotal city hubs. Titled The Bright Side of the Desert Moon, the selection features ephemeral sculptures, urban projections, and immersive site-specific installations, including neon works by Douglas Gordon and Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller, Decimal Clock (Blue and Orange), 2023 © Carsten Höller. Photo: Thomas Lannes

Carsten Höller, Abu Dhabi Dots, 2023 © Carsten Höller. Photo: Colin Robertson

Public Installation

Carsten Höller
Abu Dhabi Dots

November 18, 2023–January 30, 2024, 5:30pm–1am daily
Corniche, Abu Dhabi
abudhabiculture.ae

Carsten Höller’s Abu Dhabi Dots (2023) is installed on the waterfront in Abu Dhabi as part of the inaugural edition of Manar Abu Dhabi, a festival offering an immersive, multisensory experience to celebrate the natural beauty of the United Arab Emirates. The second installment of the artist’s Dots series, the public light exhibit, which begins each evening at 5:30pm, comprises twenty spotlights in four colors that follow participants’ movements and allow them to play a “reward and punishment” game with one another.

Carsten Höller, Abu Dhabi Dots, 2023 © Carsten Höller. Photo: Colin Robertson

See all News for Carsten Höller

Museum Exhibitions

Rachel Feinstein, Mr. Time, 2015 © Rachel Feinstein

On View

Fairy Tales

Through April 28, 2024
Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
www.qagoma.qld.gov.au

Fairy Tales explores centuries of beloved folk stories through contemporary art, costumes, immersive installations, and cinema from visual storytellers around the world. The exhibition aims to untangle themes of bravery and justice, loyalty and humility, cunning and aspiration. Work by Rachel Feinstein, Urs Fischer, and Carsten Höller is included.

Rachel Feinstein, Mr. Time, 2015 © Rachel Feinstein

Tatiana Trouvé, Les indéfinis, 2018 © Tatiana Trouvé

Closed

What a Wonderful World

May 26, 2022–May 21, 2023
Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome
www.maxxi.art

This exhibition brings together major installations by fourteen international artists including key works from the museum’s collection and others commissioned for the occasion. The works on display investigate issues of scientific and technological progress relating to the challenges of the contemporary era. Work by Carsten Höller and Tatiana Trouvé is included.

Tatiana Trouvé, Les indéfinis, 2018 © Tatiana Trouvé

Carsten Höller, Divisions (Turquoise Lines and Pink Circles), 2014 © Carsten Höller

Closed

Carsten Höller
Day

October 5, 2021–February 28, 2022
Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia, Lisbon
www.maat.pt

Carsten Höller: Day brings together an array of works producing light and darkness, including sculptures that function as lamps, projections, and architectural interventions, dating from 1987, when Höller was working as a scientist, to today. More than twenty works, many re-created especially for this show, unfold across the museum in an arrangement that creates a dialogue with its architecture. The exhibition space is illuminated exclusively by Höller’s art, leading audiences through multisensory experiences of altered perception.

Carsten Höller, Divisions (Turquoise Lines and Pink Circles), 2014 © Carsten Höller

Installation view, Dyr i kunsten, Arken Museum, Ishoj, Denmark, May 26, 2020–January 10, 2021. Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2020. Photo: David Stjernholm

Closed

Dyr i kunsten

March 21, 2020–January 10, 2021
Arken Museum, Ishoj, Denmark
uk.arken.dk

Dyr i kunsten, or Animals in Art, features sculpture, installations, video, photography, and paintings by a wide array of international artists whose work explores the ways that humans study, categorize, live with, and use animals and how we thus attempt to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves. Work by Douglas Gordon, Damien Hirst, and Carsten Höller is included.

Installation view, Dyr i kunsten, Arken Museum, Ishoj, Denmark, May 26, 2020–January 10, 2021. Artwork © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2020. Photo: David Stjernholm

See all Museum Exhibitions for Carsten Höller

Press

See all Press