On Landscape: Between Escapism and Disenchantment

How do artists today view nature in light of climate change, overpopulation, pollution, and unchecked digitalization?

– Haus am Lützowplatz (HaL), Simone Haack, La foret secrete, 2024

The exhibition brings together international artists who are re-examining the theme of landscape within the context of ecological, technological, and social issues. The focus is on two forces: on the one hand, the overuse of global resources, as embodied in the concept of the Anthropocene. On the other hand, the growing power of the digital realm, accelerated by artificial intelligence, which is increasingly permeating everyday life and artistic practices.

Nature, as a subject of art, has never been a neutral representation. Ever since landscape painting emerged as an independent genre in the 14th century, it has been a cultural construct. Whether as an idealized idyll, untouched wilderness, or economic and cultural space—landscape has always been a canvas for projection. This appropriation reached its peak in 19th-century Romanticism, which elevated nature to quasi-religious heights under the concept of the sublime. The contemporary perspective is also measured against this.

Landscapes can serve as testaments to ecological guilt in the so-called “Anthropocene”—and at the same time as refuges for the longing for a better world. Humans have shaped, exploited, and destroyed nature. And yet they still seek redemption in it. They dream of Arcadia, which never existed. Of paradise, which has always meant gardens, never primeval forests. And artists continue to set out: to the poles, into the rainforest. In search of a transhuman experience.

But what happens when landscape itself becomes artificial? When it consists of algorithms, data, and AI-generated simulations? The exhibition asks whether such artificial landscapes are merely mirrors of our alienation—or whether they hold utopian potential. The exhibition focuses consistently on the genre of landscape and presents it across various media: from painting and photography to video, object-based art, and sculpture.

Featuring works by: Alkan Avcıoğlu, Jessica Auer, Julius von Bismarck, Sven Drühl, Ornella Fieres, Philipp Fürhofer, Noémie Goudal, Beate Gütschow, Simone Haack, Michelle Jezierski, Friedrich Kunath, Hiroyuki Masuyama, Mike Strauch, Troika (Eva Rucki, Conny Freyer, Sebastien Noel)

Curated by Marc Wellmann and Asja Wolf

Runtime: Thu, 10/09/2026 to Sun, 03/01/2027

Takes place here:

• Haus am Lützowplatz (HaL)