Absorbent Figure
45 x 53 x 51 cm, Aluminium, 2025
Commissioned by Haus der Kunst München
Sitting in the middle of the room is the new sculpture Absorbent Figure, made of aluminium and modelled on the small Weeping Buddha souvenirs—first appeared in Indonesia in the 1970s for tourists as craft objects rather than religious symbols. Recast and enlarged in industrial material, this object becomes monumental, its surfaces both reflective and resistant. The transformation from souvenir to sculpture turns a mass-produced trinket into a vessel of emotion. Its head permanently sunk into its arms in an expression of profound grief. In its doubled meaning, it becomes a paradoxical witness to erosion, belief, and transmission across time.
Furniture and Objects from the Haus der Kunst Archive and Surrounding,
Installation, 2025
A selection of furniture and objects from the 1930s to the present—exit signage, worn chairs, sofa from P1 club, and a well-trodden basement carpet—are assembled by the artist into a quiet tableau. Each carries the residue of Haus der Kunst’s layered history, bearing traces of use, adaptation, and erasure. Resting heavily in the room, these materials recall the negotiations over the building’s many tenants on repurposing and shifting institutional identities. Their now-empty chairs evoke the haunting presence of former occupants and decision-makers, spectral witnesses to the site’s transformations. Through this assemblage, Gaillard exposes the building itself as both archive and artefact, where time is sedimented in its objects, and the everyday becomes a register of history.
List of furniture items
Coat Rack, 1937
Design: Unknown
Material: Metal, fabric
Chair with Slatted Backrest, 1937
Design: Atelier Troost
Material: Oak
Armchair with Leather Trim, 1937
Design: Atelier Troost
Material: Walnut, leather, brass studs
Stool, 1937
Design: Atelier Troost
Material: Oak, leather
Sofa, 1937
Design: Atelier Troost
Material: Solid walnut, rattan, upholstery, velvet
Bench, 1937
Design: Atelier Troost
Material: Solid oak, partly veneered
Coat Stand, 1937
Design: Atelier Troost
Material: Walnut, brass
Swivel Chair, 1938
Design: Unknown
Material: Oak
Chair with Loose Leather Cushion, 1938
Design: Atelier Troost
Material: Oak, leather cushion
Three Standing Ashtrays, 1956
Design: Unknown
Material: Brass, iron
Sign Stand "Beginning of the Next Film Screening", 1958
Design: Unknown
Material: Metal
Sign Stand "To the Exhibition Restaurant", 1958
Design: Unknown
Material: Metal
Sign Stand (without inscription), 1958
Design: Unknown
Material: Metal
Louis Ghost, 2002
Design: Philippe Starck
Material: Plastic
Two Chairs, undated
Design: Yuzuru Yamakawa
Material: Rattan, steel
Nine Coat Stands, undated
Design: Unknown
Material: Metal
Two Coat Stands, undated
Design: Unknown
Material: Metal