Alexander Tillegreen at the Kunsthalle Mannheim: When Art Begins to Sound


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When Images Begin to Sound: Alexander Tillegreen at the Kunsthalle Mannheim
The exhibition Pieces for Works by Danish artist and composer Alexander Brix Tillegreen transforms the Kunsthalle Mannheim into a resonance space for hearing, seeing, and spatial perception. From September 23, 2026 to January 10, 2027, visitors will encounter site-sensitive sound installations, musical compositions, and selected works from the museum collection.
Sound as an Autonomous Art Form
Tillegreen develops ten new sound works for the exhibition that relate to sculptures, works on paper, and paintings from the Kunsthalle. The sound does not illustrate the existing artworks but enters into an open dialogue with them as an autonomous artistic work. This creates interim spaces where visual form, acoustic movement, and architectural spatial impact mutually alter.
Artistic Consideration between Image, Space, and Time
The exhibition atmosphere demands a decelerated consideration of the works. Voices, soundscapes, and spatially distributed speakers draw attention to details that remain hidden in a purely visual museum visit. The ear becomes an active organ of perception while paintings, sculptures, and works on paper are newly revealed in an expanded aesthetic experience.
Compositional reference points include works by Louise Nevelson, Rosemarie Trockel, Isa Genzken, Auguste Rodin, Édouard Vuillard, Francis Bacon, and László Moholy-Nagy. Tillegreen translates their formal, material, or spatial properties into autonomous sound situations. The exhibition thus connects contemporary sound art, installation, and visual art to a sensitive investigation of perception.
Alexander Tillegreen: Art Between Painting and Psychoacoustics
Alexander Brix Tillegreen, born in 1991 in Taarbæk, Denmark, studied at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main and at the Cooper Union in New York. His practice sits between painting, printmaking, sound installation, sculpture, video, and composition. A central interest is the question of how language, voice, sound, and psychoacoustic phenomena generate meaning.
In his works, the artist explores the transitions between what is heard, seen, and physically experienced. Perception does not appear as a fixed quantity but as an active process shaped by memory, cultural background, and spatial situation. This art-historically and scientifically informed stance makes Pieces for Works a compelling example of contemporary intermedial curation.
An Artistic Experience for the Eye, Ear, and Body
The installation unfolds its effect not only before individual exhibits but also while walking through the spaces. Sound comes from various directions, changes its presence, and connects seemingly separate works. The architecture of the Kunsthalle becomes an instrument, and visitor movement becomes a component of the composition.
As a UNESCO City of Music, Mannheim offers the appropriate cultural context for this project. The exhibition expands the museum with a musical dimension and shows how cultural education opens new access to art through the connection of various senses. It invites visitors to not only look at familiar works but also to acoustically experience their atmosphere, tension, and possible afterimages.
Conclusion: Experience Contemporary Sound Art Live
Pieces for Works awaits art enthusiasts as a concentrated, sensual, and simultaneously insightful artistic experience. Those who wish to explore the boundaries between painting, sculpture, installation, and composition will discover new perspectives on the collection and on their own perception at the Kunsthalle Mannheim. The exhibition should not only be read but definitely experienced on-site.
Official Channels of Alexander Tillegreen:
- Website: https://www.alexandertillegreen.com/










