What is the relationship between civilization and nature? While classical literature usually sees them as indissoluble opposites, the idea of the "Anthropocene" suggests that the two areas strongly interpenetrate or are closely interwoven. The verse "Wild hearts over house roofs" from the poem "November Birds" by Ursula K. Le Guin, which gives the exhibition by Natalia Stachon and Pia Stadtbäumer its title, initially establishes a horizontal order in this question: The sphere of living (and here passionately animated) nature is located above the well-structured architecture of a city and its inhabitants - the spheres do not touch, the "wildness" of the migrating birds can only be observed by humans from a distance. In the exhibition space, however, a direct dialog is possible: in her sculptural work, Pia Stadtbäumer repeatedly devotes herself to the invention and exploration of bodies - human, animal, hybrid - and their specific gestures; her sculptures convey an unsettling liveliness, sometimes also unruliness. Natalia Stachon, on the other hand, focuses on contemporary cities and the processes of change to which they are subject. She is particularly interested in the signs and fragments of urban space that are capable of triggering emotional reactions. Over the duration of the exhibition, her atmospheric drawings and installations form a habitat for Pia Stadtbäumer's sculptures and picture panels - a poetic collaboration that brings to mind Donna Haraway's concept of "companion species", among other things: It is not man or man-made civilization that is at the center of the action here, but a non-hierarchical encounter full of possibilities for interaction.
Pia Stadtbäumer has been Professor of Sculpture at the HfbK in Hamburg since 2000 and will retire after the summer semester of 2025. Natalia Stachon was one of the first generation of students to graduate with her. Stachon has been Professor of Sculpture and Drawing at the HAW in Hamburg since 2021.
Text: Dagrun Hintze
Natalia Stachon, née 1976 in Katowice, lives and works in Berlin. Stachon's works have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including: Reinbeckhallen/Berlin, 4th Industrial Art Biennal/Labin, Kunstverein Springhornhof/Neuenkirchen, ZKM Center for Art and Media/Karlsruhe, Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung/Berlin, Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten/Marl, CSW Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej/Toruń, BWA, Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej/Katowice, n.b.k Neuer Berliner Kunstverein/Berlin, Museum für Konkrete Kunst/Ingolstadt, Mercedes-Benz Contemporary/Berlin, Bundeskunsthalle/Bonn, Haus am Waldsee/Berlin, Haus Konstruktiv/Zurich, Tate Modern/London.
Pia Stadtbäumer, born in Münster in 1959, lives and works in Düsseldorf. Stadtbäumer's works have attracted a great deal of attention at numerous national and international exhibitions and have been shown at venues including: Museo d'Arte Contemporaneo/Turin, Museum Haus Esters/Krefeld, The Dakis Joannou Collection, Sprengel Museum/Hannover, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, K 20/Düsseldorf, Kunstmuseum Bonn, museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf, Denver Art Museum, USA, Akademie der Künste/Berlin, Museum Morsbroich Leverkusen, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Sydney Biennale. Among others, she received the Karl Ernst Osthaus Prize and the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Scholarship.
Pia Stadtbäumer has been Professor of Sculpture at the HfbK in Hamburg since 2000 and will retire after the summer semester of 2025. Natalia Stachon was one of the first generation of students to graduate with her. Stachon has been Professor of Sculpture and Drawing at the HAW in Hamburg since 2021.
Text: Dagrun Hintze
Natalia Stachon, née 1976 in Katowice, lives and works in Berlin. Stachon's works have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including: Reinbeckhallen/Berlin, 4th Industrial Art Biennal/Labin, Kunstverein Springhornhof/Neuenkirchen, ZKM Center for Art and Media/Karlsruhe, Akademie der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung/Berlin, Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten/Marl, CSW Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej/Toruń, BWA, Galeria Sztuki Współczesnej/Katowice, n.b.k Neuer Berliner Kunstverein/Berlin, Museum für Konkrete Kunst/Ingolstadt, Mercedes-Benz Contemporary/Berlin, Bundeskunsthalle/Bonn, Haus am Waldsee/Berlin, Haus Konstruktiv/Zurich, Tate Modern/London.
Pia Stadtbäumer, born in Münster in 1959, lives and works in Düsseldorf. Stadtbäumer's works have attracted a great deal of attention at numerous national and international exhibitions and have been shown at venues including: Museo d'Arte Contemporaneo/Turin, Museum Haus Esters/Krefeld, The Dakis Joannou Collection, Sprengel Museum/Hannover, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, K 20/Düsseldorf, Kunstmuseum Bonn, museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf, Denver Art Museum, USA, Akademie der Künste/Berlin, Museum Morsbroich Leverkusen, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Sydney Biennale. Among others, she received the Karl Ernst Osthaus Prize and the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Scholarship.