Artist Profiles > H > Carsten Höller
Previously trained as a scientist, Carsten Höller (b. 1961, Brussels) applies said knowledge to his work as an internationally renowned artist; concentrating particularly on the nature of human relationships. Known to create situations that alter our interaction with the world, Höller explores human perceptions through participatory works that prompt us to reimagine the way we move through the world.
The artist is well-known for decades of his major installations, which include Upside-Down Goggles (2009–11), a participatory experiment involving vision distortions; Test Site (2006), a series of giant slides installed in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall; and Flying Machine (1996), an interactive work in which viewers are strapped into a harness and hoisted through the air.
Together with internationally renowned and accomplished artists Tobias Rehberger, Anri Sala, and Rirkrit Tiravanija, the four of them celebrated STPI’s 15th year milestone as they take on a daring challenge to create artworks with the experimental institution through blind collaboration fueled by pure instinct and spontaneity. The collaborative works were showcased in a group exhibition, Carsten Höller, Tobias Rehberger, Anri Sala & Rirkrit Tiravanija: Exquisite Trust (Blindly Collective Collaborations) (2017).
Selected major exhibitions include Artists for Studio Voltaire, Studio Voltaire, London (2018); Carsten Höller: Reason, Gagosian, New York (2017); Doubt, Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, (2016); Decision, Hayward Gallery, London (2015); Double Carousel with Zöllner Stripes, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rome (2011); Divided Divided, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2010); Amusement Park, MASS MoCA, Massachusetts (2006); and Une exposition à Marseille, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Marseille (2004).
Höller has presented in various platforms and biennales, including the Venice Biennale (2015, 2009, 2005, and 2003); Gwangju Biennale (2014, 2010); Berlin Biennale (2014); Sharjah Biennial (2013); Bienal de São Paulo (2008); and Biennale de Lyon (2003).