Out of the Ordinary

The retrospective as a total artwork: Encompassing more than 2200 square meters in and around the large exhibition hall, including its upper gallery, the show provides visitors to the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg the opportunity to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of Hans Op de Beeck’s art.

The exhibition title “Out of the Ordinary” is meant both literally and figuratively. Drawn from the direct experience of everyday life, the celebrated Belgian multimedia artist Hans Op de Beeck (*1969) has created curiously defamiliarized places and situations that, often model-like, indeed become truly out of the ordinary through the exacting use of flowing water, magical recordings of music or powerful film images.

A premiere for Wolfsburg: For the first time in the museum’s history, a solo exhibition in the large hall will begin on the upper gallery. Trees, shrubs, gravel pathways, and a fountain of water will welcome visitors there. The view from this garden terrace extends out over factory complexes and suburban buildings that house a selection of the artist’s most important installations and videos, including additional pieces produced especially for the Wolfsburg exhibition.

The catalogue as artist book: Parallel to the retrospective, a comprehensive overview of the artist’s work to date will be published in book form and features numerous commentaries by the artist, who is also active as a writer, composer and theater director.