ELISABETH VON SAMSONOW. Big Girl: A Major Interdisciplinary Art Exhibition at the Heidi Horten Collection

This major solo exhibition showcases the interdisciplinary practice of artist-theorist Elisabeth von Samsonow, presenting a dynamic parcours of her work. The exhibition features sculptures, paintings, drawings, films, and a site-specific installation, exploring themes of earth, history, life, energy, and collective memory.

The Heidi Horten Collection presents a significant solo exhibition dedicated to the artist-theorist Elisabeth von Samsonow, highlighting a practice that transcends disciplinary boundaries. This exhibition offers the most extensive presentation to date of Samsonow's multifaceted work, demonstrating its artistic scope and intellectual depth. Conceived as a richly narrative survey, the exhibition unfolds as a dynamic parcours, bringing together early works with recent creations. Visitors can expect to see sculptures, paintings, drawings, films, and a site-specific installation that provide insight into her remarkable practice, characterized by performative thinking, formal diversity, and a deeply interdisciplinary approach. Central to Samsonow’s artistic practice is a profound engagement with the earth as a source of history, life, energy, and collective memory. Her works draw inspiration from cultural history, reinterpreted through a contemporary visual language. Movement, both physical and psychological, is a key element, with her art playfully crossing the boundaries of rational systems and opening dialogues between art, philosophy, anthropology, and political thought. The exhibition highlights sculptural installations and painting cycles focusing on the Gaia myth, addressing fundamental questions of origin, body, birth, value, and transformation. Notably, many wooden sculptures are carved from entire tree trunks, including those from a thousand-year-old linden tree, making the tangible perception of growth and time palpable. Samsonow’s visual worlds delve into the collective unconscious, particularly where it intersects with nature. They incorporate fragments of dreams and experimental modes of perception, moving between diagrammatic structures and archetypal forms. These works encourage viewers to reconsider and reinterpret familiar images, opening possibilities for alternative readings of history, corporeality, and community. The exhibition also deliberately connects with the Heidi Horten Collection's holdings, integrating works by Egon Schiele and German Expressionists, reflecting Samsonow’s long-standing engagement with these artists. Furthermore, a specially designed area for creative work by young people and adults is an integral part of the presentation, underscoring its open and dialogical character. A catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition.

A catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition. Specific ticketing information is not detailed on this page, but the exhibition dates are provided, suggesting a scheduled event requiring admission details to be found elsewhere or upon visit. The presence of a 'Permanent exhibition' link suggests that general museum admission policies may apply to current and future exhibitions unless otherwise specified on a dedicated ticketing page, which is not present here. For visitor access, check the museum's official website for specific ticketing procedures and pricing details during the exhibition run from September 19, 2026, to February 28, 2027. Visitors are directed to the main website for further information regarding their visit, which would likely include ticketing details not elaborated on this specific exhibition preview page, as it's presented under a 'Preview' section of upcoming events.