Uncertain Domesticities

The international exhibition Uncertain Domesticities originated from a collaboration between the House of Arts Brno, the Berlin-based gallery Haus Kunst Mitte and the Asyl der Kunst Foundation. Two of these institutions have the word “house” in their names, and the diversity of images and meanings of “house” and “housing” in contemporary art has become one of the cornerstones of their joint project. It was initiated by the Italian curator and multimedia artist Alba D'Urbano and the German painter and curator Ina Bierstedt. The exhibition was first presented in January this year in Berl’n, is now on view in Brno and will be held in 2026 at the Museo Bilotti in Rome.

The exhibition presents works of 27 artists and offers a variety of artistic media—sculptures, installations, objects, paintings, videos, photographs. In Berlin, the exhibition concept responded to the character of Haus Kunst Mitte, a former apartment building. In Brno, it works with the generous and aesthetically strong space of the House of Arts and the history of the local architecture. The exhibition refers to Franz Xavier Baier's thesis of “living space”, an extended concept of architecture that includes events and processes that inscribe themselves in matter. The concept is also based on Gaston Bachelard's text The Poetics of Space, which expresses the author's assumption that the feeling of “home” is not necessarily linked to a specific object, environment or place, but rather to an emotional attachment.

Another important source of inspiration for Uncertain Domesticities is the explicitly feminist exhibition Womanhouse by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro, held at the California Institute of the Arts in 1972. Here, the two artists and their students created a groundbreaking installation that thematized and exposed stereotypical roles for women.

Some of the works in the exhibition Uncertain Domesticities refer to the body as our most intimate home. They point to our vulnerability and existential connection to our environment, as well as to the archetypal image of the body as the—temporary—dwelling place of the soul. The artists address the complex issue of sustainable future of the world and attempt to highlight the potential for change. The exhibition also includes works that touch on traumatic experiences and their transmission across generations. They point out that the absence of a sense of security and support in a private, familiar space is an everyday reality for many people.

Some of the works relate to the history of architecture, which is always an expression of political conditions. After all, the internal and external form of the House of Arts was co-shaped by political constellations from the very beginning. The artistic solution of the exhibition, carried by a colour concept designed specifically for its halls, takes this into account.

The need for a safe home is a basic existential need of every human being. Each of us can relate to this with our own experience and immerse ourselves in the multitude of memories that the artists activate through the exhibition.

Participating artists: Adidal Abou-Chamat, Tina Bara / Alba D’Urbano, Aneta Beranová, Ina Bierstedt, Jens Brand, Bettina Carl, Vilém Duha, Judith Miriam Escherlor, Kerstin Flake, Gluklya, Vendula Chalánková, Andreas Koch, Pauline Kraneis, Susanne Kutter, Loredana Longo, Susanne Lorenz, Isa Melsheimer, Silvina Der Meguerditchian, David Možný, Linda Perthen, Ahmed Ramadan, Inken Reinert, Tamara Spalajković, Nanaé Suzuki, Petra Trenkel, Gabriele Worgitzki

We would like to thank the Czech-German Future Fund for its contribution.