Doubt, uncertainty, that feeling that something is not exactly as it should be: these are the suggestions that lie at the basis of the research of the German artist Carsten Höller, who in a playful and ironic way, for several decades now, has invited the the observer to open up to what he doesn’t know, to “take a risk”. And it does so through large environmental installations, which the spectator is invited to explore: as in the case of the work Scala del Doubt/Doubt Staircase, permanently installed in Palazzo Diedo in Venice, the new headquarters of Berggruen Arts & Culture.THE “STAIRCASE OF DOUBT ” BY CARSTEN HÖLLER IN VENICE Recently revealed to the public, Höller’s intervention completes an unfinished staircase in the 18th century palace, obtaining a spiral structure perfectly integrated with the original architecture, which however presents a slight alteration which makes the all imperceptibly surreal. The structure, in fact, is inclined by five degrees: a minimal modification yet impossible not to perceive. Thus, while the visitor of the palace goes from the main floor to the second floor, he cannot help but feel a slight sense of indecipherable uncertainty. “Carsten Höller is famous for the slides he built,” explained the curator Baldo Hauser, “but now he tries his hand at building an oval staircase. He must have had in mind the Venetian stairs of Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo and Palladio, but this is inclined, like perhaps the city as a whole, or the human mind: how do we manage verticality, and order in general, when the world we live in is anything but straight?”.THE BERGGRUEN ARTS AND CULTURE FOUNDATION IN VENICEThe installation inaugurated by Höller is only the most recent of the initiatives undertaken by Berggruen Arts & Culture – a charitable foundation created by the collector Nicolas Berggruen – in the Venetian Lagoon. It was 2022 when the philanthropist purchased Palazzo Diedo, starting a massive restoration project that only ended last April. The institution’s objective is to make its five floors and over 4 thousand square meters of exhibition space available to host artist residencies, exhibitions, events, screenings and performances. The space is currently open to the public with the inaugural collective exhibition Janus (open until November 24), which brings together the works of eleven internationally renowned artists, including Carsten Höller himself, Urs Fischer, Mariko Mori and Sterling Ruby.[Immagine in apertura: Carsten Höller, Scala del dubbio-Doubt Staircase, 2024, installation view, ph. Massimo Pistore, courtesy Berggruen Arts & Culture]
