Quadrature: The Mass of Money

Quadrature (Juliane Götz & Sebastian Neitsch): The Mass of Money—Wealth, Data, and the Gravity of Capital, Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden 2026

Wealth can be counted—yet it remains difficult to comprehend. The extreme concentration of wealth, in particular, reaches dimensions that elude our immediate understanding. With The Mass of Money, the artist duo Quadrature—Juliane Götz and Sebastian Neitsch—examines mechanisms of wealth concentration and economic inequality, translating economic data into simulations, images, and spatial experiences. The final exhibition of the Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden 2026 is on view until January 22, 2027, at the University Gallery in the Görges Building at TUD Dresden University of Technology.

The exhibition brings together the results of the six-month Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden 2026, hosted by the Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific and Art Collections (Kustodie), TUD, as part of the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden. The residency program enables artists to use the university as a space for research and to bring their artistic practice into dialogue with scientific perspectives. In this process, different forms of knowledge and research come together.

Wealth as data, model, and simulation
At the center of the exhibition is the newly developed audiovisual installation “Cosmology of Capital.” In this work, Quadrature translates wealth data into the format of an N-body simulation used in astrophysics: just as mass attracts mass, capital attracts more capital. Celestial bodies, galaxies, and black holes become visual metaphors for the concentration of wealth and its self-reinforcing dynamics. The other works also draw on images and models of economic relationships. “Invisible Hands” takes the proverbial ‘invisible hand of the market’ literally, translating it into gold-colored ornamental reliefs. In the card games “Super Trumps / Ultra Trumps,” the principles of comparison, competition, and accumulation take center stage: different indicators are used to make extreme wealth comparable. The augmented reality work “Anti Accumulation Activation App,” meanwhile, combines data from the Global Justice Report 2026 with the image of a black hole and explores possible ways to counteract the mechanisms of extreme wealth concentration. 

Artistic research in dialogue with the university
The artistic works were developed in dialogue with researchers and students at TUD. Perspectives from the economic and social sciences, mathematics, and computer science, as well as from the Schaufler Kolleg@TU Dresden, informed the artistic research. A scientific workshop, numerous discussions, and a master’s seminar in mathematics, in which students worked together with Quadrature to develop mathematical models and computational methods, turned the university itself into a research space for the project. Quadrature has been working at the intersection of art, science, and technology since 2015. The duo uses data as artistic material to examine social and scientific systems as well as structures of power and inequality. Juliane Götz and Sebastian Neitsch have received numerous awards and distinctions, including recognition at the Prix Ars Electronica, and hold professorships in Interface Cultures at the University of Arts Linz.

Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden: Third Funding Phase “Energy Cultures in Transition”
Beginning in April 2027, the Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, a joint project of TUD and THE SCHAUFLER FOUNDATION, will devote its third funding phase to the new overarching theme “Energy Cultures in Transition.” Ahead of the new funding phase, the Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden 2027 is now open for applications: international artists and collectives can apply by November 9, 2026, for the six-month research residency, followed by a solo exhibition at the University Gallery in the Görges Building at TUD.

Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden
Kirsten Vincenz, Director, Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific, and Art Collections (Kustodie), TUD / Spokesperson Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden / Gwendolin Kremer, Curatorial Head University Gallery, Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific, and Art Collections (Kustodie), TUD / Curator Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden // Pauline Hohn, Curatorial Assistant Schaufler Residency@TU Dresden