Heidi Horten Collection / Animalia – Von Tieren und Menschen

Heidi Horten Collection / Animalia - Of Animals and People

With the exhibition Animalia. Of Animals and Peoplethe Heidi Horten Collection examines the complex relationship between humans and animals. The term Animalia, borrowed from biology, serves as the guiding principle for a critical examination of man's interaction with animals, which is reflected in over 100 works of art from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Derived from anima, the Latin word for breath or soul, the term used by the natural scientist Carl von Linné (1707–1778) includes: coined term Animalia humans and animals alike. In contrast to this model of equality, man's interaction with animals is characterized by a clear hierarchy.

As the supposed "peak of evolution", as a being of reason that rises above the animal world, man assigns ambivalent roles to animals. Artistic representations that make these different attributions visible say a lot about people themselves; they allow conclusions to be drawn about their self-image and their methods of projection. The human being is already present in every image of the animal - even if he is not part of the depiction.

The exhibition examines the question of which social, societal and historical structures are inscribed in the depictions of animals. They range from the idea of ​​“man’s best friend” to the humanization and objectification of animals and their exploitation. At the same time, the exhibition allows a view of ANIMALIA as a mental experiment - beyond a common biological category - as a principle of a common model of life that thinks of animals as fellow creatures and fellow actors.

27. March to August 30, 2026

Artists in the exhibition:

Karel Appel, Cory Arcangel, Miquel Barceló, Georg Baselitz, Dominika Bednarsky, Cosima von Bonin, Rembrandt Bugatti, Marc Chagall, Selva de Carvalho, George Condo, Mark Dion, Jean Dufy, Gerhart Frankl, Helene Funke, Matthias Garff, August Gaul, Gelatin, Flaka Haliti, Lena Henke, Damien Hirst, Edgar Honetschläger, Hörner/Antlfinger, Anna Jermolaewa, Birgit Jürgenssen, Sanna Kannisto, Gülsün Karamustafa, Erika Giovanna Klien, Gustav Klimt, Stanislaw Kubicki, François-Xavier Lalanne, Maria Lassnig, Maria Legat, Fernand Léger, Roy Lichtenstein, Angelika Loderer, Constantin Luser, Franz Marc, Sarah Morris, Alois Mosbacher, Ulrike Müller, Meret Oppenheim, Michèle Pagel, Yan Pei-Ming, Pablo Picasso, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Corinne L. Rusch, Kristof Santy, Anne Speier, Margherita Spiluttini, Curt Stenvert, Melanie Thöni, Philipp Timischl, Wilhelm Trübner, Not Vital, Raphaela Vogel, Kay Walkowiak, Andy Warhol.