Carsten Höller

Carsten Höller holds a doctorate in biology, and he uses his training as a scientist in his work as an artist, concentrating particularly on the nature of human relationships. Viewer participation is the key to all of Höller's sculptures, but it is less an end in itself than a vehicle to informally test the artist's theories concerning human perception and physiological reactions. Equal parts scientific experiment and sensual encounter, Höller's works are most frequently devoted to his singular obsession—chemically analyzing the nature of human emotions. Solandra Greenhouse, a work created for this exhibition, is a garden filled the with the Solandra maxima vine, a plant that exudes pheromones capable of inducing amorous feelings. Coupled with strobe lighting intended to create a slight disorientation in the visitor, the experience of the Solandra Greenhouse is meant to recapitulate the physical effects of falling in love.

Selected Bibliography:

Carsten Höller: Half-Fiction. Exhibition catalogue. Boston: Institute of Contemporary Art, 2003.

Celant, Germano. Carsten Höller: Register. Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2002.

Hoffman, Jens. "Carsten Höller: We Must Doubt!" NU: The Nordic Art Review 4 (2002): 130–37.

Höller, Carsten. Glück, Skop. Germany: Oktagon, 1996.

–––. "A Thousand Words: Carsten Höller Talks about His Slides." Artforum 37, no. 7 (March 1999): 102–3.

Links:

Air de Paris

The Snow Show