News
Japan Foundation | Japanisches Kulturinstitut Köln | Metamorphoses – メタモルフォーゼズ | Exhibition
Gabi Schillig and Yui Kawaguchi have been invited by the Japan Foundation to create a performative exhibition at the Japanisches Kulturinstitut in Cologne in spring 2026.
They will create a transforming space—a poetic and performative landscape of fabrics, substances, words, and movement in which memory, transformation and transience can be experienced physically and sensually.
Since 1995, the Japanese Cultural Institute in Cologne has been organizing dialogical exhibitions, in which works by one Japanese and one German or German-based artist are shown. The aim of the exhibition is to deepen artistic exchange and to realize a jointly developed concept. The selection was made by a Japanese-German jury of experts. The theme for the 2026 exhibition has been set as 移ろい、無常、あわい “transience.”
More info coming soon.
Japanisches Kulturinstitut Köln
Yui Kawaguchi
HEAD Genève, Switzerland | Animals Inside | Conference
The conference "Animals Inside" is initiated and organized by MAIA, Master of Arts in Interior Architecture, HEAD – Genève (HES-SO) / Javier Fernández Contreras, Youri Kravtchenko
17 November 2025
HEAD – Genève, Avenue de Châtelaine 7
1203 Geneva, Sitzerland
"The Master of Arts in Interior Architecture (MAIA) at HEAD – Genève studies the role of interior spaces in shaping contemporaneity, paying particular attention to human–non-human entanglements. This includes the dynamic relationships between humans and animals within the domestic sphere — a relationship that has transformed radically across time and geography.This conference invites designers, architects, historians, researchers, artists, and theorists to explore the history of objects and furniture designed for pets in domestic interiors, from antiquity to today. We aim to investigate when and how animals entered the home, and more crucially, when their presence began to transform its design through specific furniture and objects created for their use.From the ornately crafted birdcages of imperial courts to Victorian aquariums, and from today’s wall-mounted cat gyms to AI-powered talking buttons for dogs — these objects offer a unique lens through which to examine changes in domestic space, material culture, design, and our understanding of interspecies cohabitation." (text by HEAD Genève)
HEAD MAIA Genève
deutscher werkbund berlin | Triennale der Moderne | boundaries & transitions | Hiroyuki Unemori, Gabi Schillig, Kay Fingerle & Ludwig Heimbach | Talk
A talk and dialog between Hiroyuki Unemori (Toyko), Gabi Schillig, Kay Fingerle & Ludwig Heimbach at deutscher werkbund berlin within the scope of "Triennale der Moderne".
More info soon.
November 7, 2025 at 19h
deutscher werkbund berlin
Goethestr. 13
10623 Berlin - Charlottenburg
werkbund berlin
triennale der moderne
unemori architects
kay fingerle
ludwig heimbach
Maj van der Linden Gallery | SCHNITT | Sensing Space | Magazine Launch & Exhibition
On October 9, 2025, Schnitt and MAJ VAN DER LINDEN Gallery invite to an evening that combines publication and exhibition: the launch of Schnitt’s third issue, dedicated to the theme of Senses, and the opening of the group exhibition Sensing Space.
Both the magazine and the exhibition seek to expand this perspective by stimulating other modes of perception. Sensing Space brings together works that explore how architecture, design, and art can be experienced through different sensory dimensions - from the tactility of materials to the recollective power of smell, from atmospheric qualities to embodied forms of encounter. Perception is rooted in our own bodies, thresholds, and intimate taproot of selfishness, and in Sensing Space, these solitary perceptions begin to resonate collectively.The exhibition unfolds as a curated collection of sensory experiences, inviting visitors to reconsider how space can be felt, smelled, and touched, as much as it can be seen.
Participating artists, designers, and architects include_Studio Jumi, Marlies von Soden, Gabi Schillig, 27 87, Tina Bobbe, Iammi, Julika Hartz, Bêka & Lemoine, and Yasmin Bawa.
LAUNCH AND VERNISSAGE
Thursday October 9, 6 - 9pm
ON DISPLAY
October 9 - November 13
OPENING TIMES
Fridays & Saturdays 2 - 6pm
or by appointment
LOCATION
MAJ VAN DER LINDEN
Veteranenstraße 15
10119 BERLIN
Image: Yasmin Bawa by Margaret Flately
SCHNITT
Maj van der Linden Gallery
Kyushu University | Graduate School of Design | Fukuoka, Japan | Forum for Contemporary Practices | Artist Talk + Workshop
Topologies of Softness & the Sphere of the In-Between:
Space, Body, Materiality, Dialogue, Relational Ethics
Gabi Schillig is a visual artist whose sculptural works, performances, and actions explore the intersections of art, architecture, and design. She is also a professor of spatial design and exhibition design at the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany. In her talk and workshop topologies of softness & the sphere of the in-between: space, body, materiality, dialogue, relational ethics, Schillig will share insights into her practice, followed by a hands-on exercise inviting participants to actively engage with her methods.
Alongside the event, the performance video 'Do You Think Something Soft Can Protect Something?', 2024 (18:11min) by Soh Souen and Gabi Schillig will be presented in the Visual & Audio Lounge from October 2 to 9.
Within her artistic practice, Gabi Schillig explores space as an extension of the living body. In her work, bodies, spaces, and actions are mutually dependent and intimately connected. For Schillig, space and body are never static or immobile but alive, ephemeral, and in constant transformation. It is shaped by individual bodily experiences as well as by collective (inter)actions that, in turn, contribute to forming societies and the world we inhabit.
Schillig’s work focuses on the creation of soft, ephemeral environments: textile shells, spatial structures, pliable skins, and at times, barely perceptible membranes that challenge rigid spatial boundaries. These soft architectures act as mediators, dissolving binaries of inside and outside, self and other. They invite tactile, embodied dialogues and open new ways of being in, perceiving, and transforming space. These qualities hold the potential for transformation and foster an openness toward an ethics of care, resilience, and coexistence.
Schillig´s practice unfolds across various media—through fragile materials, textiles, drawings, experimental photography, installations, performative activations, and video.
Date＆Time – Talk & Workshop_
Monday, October 6th, 2025, 18:30 -20:00
Venue_
Kyushu University, Ohashi Campus, Printing workshop room 207, 2F, 4-9-1 Shiobaru, Minamiku, Fukuoka, 815-8540
Please register here:
https://forms.office.com/r/C6jBuXhJJc
Forum for Contemporary Practices
Kyushu University
Saruya Artist Residency | Fujiyoshida, Japan | Artist Residency
For September 2025 Gabi got invited as a resident artist at Saruya Artist Residency in SARUYA in Japan, located at the bottom of Mt. Fuji in the city of Fujiyoshida. Since 2017, SARUYA has received more than 30 artists from all over the world. Saruya aim is to foster cultural and artistic exchanges between Japanese artists and foreign artists in the fields of painting, mixed visual media, dance, performance, video.
Saruya Artist Residency
Art Auction 14 | Weserhalle Berlin | Exhibition
Weserhalle presents its 14th Art Auction, co-curated by Jan Gustav Fiedler and Tjioe Meyer-Hecken.
This event will feature over 40 artworks, showcasing a selection from our recent open call, which saw over 1,000 entries, alongside pieces by established local and international artists.
Weserhalle is a contemporary art gallery based in Neukölln, Berlin. With a strong emphasis on painting, drawing, and sculpture, Weserhalle is dedicated to presenting works that reflect on the human experience.
Artists_
Adehle Daley, Alexandru Gavriel Ganea, Ali Emir Tapan, Amer Al Akel, Anali Vakili Ardebili, Anzhelika Palyvoda, Astrid Wilk, Barbara Moura, Clara Sipf, Esmée Willemsen, Finja Sander, Gabi Schillig, Gustav Körnig, Hyunhee Doh, Irving Ramó, Isabel Schober, Isabelle Carolin Heske, Jade Cassidy, Jonas Höschl, Jonas Wolff, Jungwon Phee, Kay Lotte Pommer, Lena Becerra, Linus Rauch, Lórin Meng, Lottie Stephens, Luc Palmer, Luis Zimmermann, Maja Tobolewska, Margaux Compte-Mergier, Maria Helena Toscano, Marica Borbás-Tóth, Minh Kha Le, Mirko Mielke, Nicoline Aspvik, Paulina Aumayr, Pia-Veronica Åström, Raisa Bosich, Shuaitong Zong, Sonja Locher, susanne piotter, Vanshika Agrawal, Viktor Freso, Yasuna Iman
Art Auction 14_
8. Aug '25 — 17. Aug '25
Online Bidding_
Opens: 8. August, 6pm CET
Closes: 17. August, 8pm CET
Physical Exhibition_
Opening: 8. August, 6-9pm
Weserhalle
Weserstraße 56
12045 Berlin
Weserhalle
... as the space remembered its softness | aquabitArt Gallery Berlin | Window Exhibition
... as the space remembered its softness
the space is the body
topologies of softness
window exhibition
august 1 – 27, 2025
"the mother architecture now establishes the associative link to the ‘oceanic feeling’ of the all-connected and all-encompassing. floor, wall, and ceiling, the structural equivalents of orthogonal three-dimensionality, are transformed into an amorphous shell, and the enclosed space becomes volume. could it be that the spirit of modernism is materializing less in a seemingly decorless rationalism of steel, glass, and concrete, and instead revealing itself in a new, elastic body-oriented approach?“ kay von keitz – ‘soft modernism’ / about the work of gabi schillig, 2025
the window exhibition shows a selection of works that were on display during the solo exhibition from june 20 to 29, 2025 in the gallery in berlin-mitte.
opening hours_ by appointment only
aquabitArt Galerie
Auguststrasse 35
10119 Berlin-Mitte
aquabitArt Galerie
the space is the body – topologies of softness | aquabitArt Gallery Berlin | Artist Talk & Finissage
the space is the body
topologies of softness
artist talk & finissage
june 28, 2025 – 18h
... as the space remembered its softness
exhibition / june 20 - june 29, 2025
aquabitArt Galerie
auguststrasse 35
10119 berlin-mitte
aquabitArt galerie
... as the space remembered its softness | aquabitArt Galerie Berlin | Solo Exhibition
... as the space remembered its softness
the space is the body
topologies of softness
opening + performance w/ yui kawaguchi
friday, june 20, 19h
finissage + artist talk
topologies of softness
saturday, june 28, 18h
exhibition
june 20 – 29, 2025
"the mother architecture now establishes the associative link to the ‘oceanic feeling’ of the all-connected and all-encompassing. floor, wall, and ceiling, the structural equivalents of orthogonal three-dimensionality, are transformed into an amorphous shell, and the enclosed space becomes volume. could it be that the spirit of modernism is materializing less in a seemingly decorless rationalism of steel, glass, and concrete, and instead revealing itself in a new, elastic body-oriented approach?“ kay von keitz – ‘soft modernism’ / about the work of gabi schillig, 2025
In her work, Gabi Schillig experimentally explores space and architecture as extensions of the living body—as responsive, dynamic mediums of communication. space is not static or immobile, but alive and evolving, deeply interwoven with human presence and bodily experience. bodies, spaces, and actions are not distinct entities, but mutually dependent and intimately connected. Her work centers on the creation of soft, ephemeral architectures— textile shells, spatial structures, skins, and sometimes almost immaterial membranes—that challenge rigid spatial boundaries. these soft architectures act as spatial mediators, transforming inside and outside into fluid, permeable zones. They invite tactile and embodied dialogues, enabling new ways of being in space – from digital imaginary drawings, photography, spatial installation, performance, videos and woven textiles. Softness is a powerful spatial, material and social concept. It allows for adaptability, malleability, and resonance. It embodies fragility, fluidity, and even instability—but within these qualities lies a deep transformative potential: if something is soft it remains open to change. In times of global crisis, where hardness dominates political, social, and ecological realities, she sees softness as a methodology of transformation—an ethics of care and co-existence. Her work seeks to create soft spatialities: open, protective environments that foster intimacy, tenderness, and mutual awareness between humans, space and other forms of life.
aquabitArt Galerie
Auguststrasse 35
10119 Berlin-Mitte
aquabitArt Galerie
