A special exhibition at M+ will unveil twelve environments, an alternative term for installation art, this Saturday (Sep 20), spotlighting trailblazing women artists from Asia, Europe, and North and South America from the 1950s to the present.
Titled “Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s–Now”, these immersive, multisensory installations allow audiences to play an active role in the exhibition, being stimulated by the sensations, materials, sounds, and objects as they become part of the works.
The nine historical installations in the exhibition include Vento di Sud-Est (Wind Speed 40 Knots) by Laura Grisi – a powerful gust of air in a dark room brings atmospheric phenomena into the gallery, inviting visitors to reflect on their connections with nature and relationship to increasingly urbanized lives.
Audiences can also walk through a series of interconnected nylon structures, each illuminated by neon lights corresponding to the colors of the rainbow, while interacting with Spectral Passage by Aleksandra Kasuba.
Meanwhile, Penetración / Expulsión (del Fluvio Subtunal) by Lea Lublin creates a transparent tunnel filled with clear PVC balls that represent processes of ovulation and pregnancy, inviting viewers to symbolically re-enter the womb.
The other installations also include Brazilian artist Lygia Clark’s A casa é o corpo: penetração, ovulação, germinação, expulsão, a multi-sensory journey through darkened chambers that relive the tactile and visual experience of human reproduction.
While the installations were first presented at Haus der Kunst München in 2023, the exhibition will feature three newly commissioned works by Asian women artists.
The new commissions by M+ include The House Is Crumbling (2017/2025) by Pinaree Sanpitak, an experiential, ever-changing environment composed of thousands of Thai khid pillows.
Visitors are invited to interact with the work by deconstructing and reconstructing the space, revealing how even the smallest actions can transform our surroundings.
In the Focus Gallery, Infinite Memory by Chiharu Shiota features the artist’s signature red threads cascading through the space, enveloping three towering red dresses that evoke the female body and its indelible memories and experiences.
To Breathe by Kimsooja is presented across the museum, wrapping the windows and skylights with a translucent diffraction film that reflects natural light throughout the day, transforming the museum’s architecture into a shifting, iridescent landscape.
Additionally, M+ will host two consecutive talks on the opening day, including a conversation featuring exhibition co-curators Andrea Lissoni and Marina Pugliese, as well as an artist panel featuring the three commissioned artists.
