The Villa Merkel regards the curatorial role as being similar to a two-way hinge. On the one hand, we develop, amplify and serve the public as mediators. On the other hand, we serve artists as competent partners (discoverers/supporters). One of our main objectives is to drive innovation by investing in artistic production. The Villa Merkel is committed to presenting, promoting and discussing innovative work by emerging international contemporary artists.

Art renders the world visible. It results from the development of individual positions; it is based on voluntary participation; it is essentially playful; and it entails and promotes open thinking. Art does not emerge in a context-free environment. It reflects current social and political circumstances as well as historical and art-historical conditions.

Artistic creativity and modes of artistic expression allow for productive detours; they are not primarily linear or application-oriented; they favour a productive crossover between genres and disciplines, creating opportunities to explore socially relevant questions from very distinct angles and perspectives.

The monographic and thematic exhibitions at the Villa Merkel are conceived as a series of loosely connected and to some degree mutually referential projects. To date we have addressed questions such as “How do we form an image of nature in the present day?”, “How viable do alternative visions of life and utopias seem, particularly when considered from a position of historical detachment?”, and “What value is placed upon image-based information in an increasingly anthropomorphically shaped world?”