Michael Beutler (1976 Oldenburg, Germany) lives and works in Berlin.
Renowned for his monumental, site-specific installations that radically transform the perception of architectural and social spaces through the use of modest or industrial materials, Beutler is distinguished by a process-based approach rooted in collective participation. A hallmark of his practice is the creation of custom-built, manual machinery, often integrated into the work itself, with the aim of transforming the exhibition into a dynamic, open construction site.
Over the years, Michael Beutler has exhibited in prestigious international museums and institutions, including the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, Nottingham Contemporary, and the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt. He has also participated in major international exhibitions, such as the Venice, Berlin, and Gwangju biennials.
Michael Beutler, Keep Beating Below 65°, Pinksummer, Genoa, 2020. Exhibition view. Photo © Alice Moschin.
Michael Beutler, Keep Beating Below 65°, Pinksummer, Genoa, 2020. Exhibition view. Photo © Alice Moschin.
Michael Beutler, Keep Beating Below 65°, Pinksummer, Genoa, 2020. Exhibition view. Photo © Alice Moschin.
Michael Beutler, Shipyard, Viva Arte Viva, 57th Venice Biennale, 2017. Installation view. Photo © Haupt & Binder.
Michael Beutler, Shipyard, Viva Arte Viva, 57th Venice Biennale, 2017. Installation view. Photo © Haupt & Binder.
Michael Beutler, Shipyard, Viva Arte Viva, 57th Venice Biennale, 2017. Installation view. Photo © Haupt & Binder.
Michael Beutler, Criss Cross Garage, Pinksummer, 2017. Exhibition view. Photo © Alice Moschin.
Michael Beutler, Pump House, Spike Island, Bristol, 2016. Exhibition view. Photo © Stuart Whipps.
Michael Beutler, Pump House, Spike Island, Bristol, 2016. Exhibition view. Photo © Stuart Whipps.
Michael Beutler, Pump House, Spike Island, Bristol, 2016. Exhibition view. Photo © Stuart Whipps.
Michael Beutler, Pump House, Spike Island, Bristol, 2016. Exhibition view. Photo © Stuart Whipps.
Michael Beutler, Moby Dick, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2015. Exhibition view. Photo © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Thomas Bruns.
Michael Beutler, Moby Dick, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, 2015. Exhibition view. Photo © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Thomas Bruns.
Michael Beutler, Ballenernte, 2014, Kunstareal Munchen, Munich
Michael Beutler, Haus Beutler, Bielefelder Kunstverein, 2014. Exhibition view. Photo © Philipp Ottendörfer.
Michael Beutler, Haus Beutler, Bielefelder Kunstverein, 2014. Exhibition view. Photo © Philipp Ottendörfer.
Michael Beutler, Haus Beutler, Bielefelder Kunstverein, 2014. Exhibition view. Photo © Philipp Ottendörfer.
Michael Beutler, Polder Peil, Wilhelminapolder, 2014. Installation view. Photo © Gijs Haak.
Michael Beutler, Polder Peil, Wilhelminapolder, 2014. Installation view. Photo © Gijs Haak.
Michael Beutler, Polder Peil, Wilhelminapolder, 2014. Installation view. Photo © Gijs Haak.
Michael Beutler, Polder Peil, Wilhelminapolder, 2014. Installation view.
Michael Beutler, Polder Peil, Wilhelminapolder, 2014. Installation view.
Michael Beutler, Polder Peil, Wilhelminapolder, 2014. Installation view.
Michael Beutler, Polder Peil, Wilhelminapolder, 2014. Installation view.
Michael Beutler, Knock Knock, Le Grand Café, Centre d’Art Contemporaine, Saint Nazarie, 2013. Exhibition view. Photo © Marc Domage.
Michael Beutler, Aluminum Pagode, LAC, Frankfurt, 2006. Permanent installation. Photo © Michael Beutler.
Michael Beutler (1976 Oldenburg, Germany) lives and works in Berlin.
EDUCATION
1997-2003
Städelschule Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2000-2001
Master in Fine Arts at Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK
PRIZES AND RESIDENCIES
2013
Atelier Calder (residency), Saché, France
2007
mfi-Preis Kunst am Bau, Essen, Germany
2006
Kunstfonds Artistic Residence Scholarship, Bonn, Germany
2005 / 2006
IASPIS Stipendium (residency), Stockholm, Sweden
2005
Preis für Skulptur und Installation der Öffentlichen Versicherung, Oldenburg, Germany
2004
Förderpreis für Kunst des Landes Niedersachsen, Germany
2003 / 2004
Pontostiftung, Dresdner Band, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
SOLO SHOWS
2026
Onion, Pinksummer, Genoa, Italy
2025
Michael Beutler, Z33, Hasselt, Belgium
Bozar Monumental (site-specific installation), Brussels, Belgium
2024
SCHÖNER WOHNEN, Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt, Germany
2022
Stardust, Wilhelm Hack Museum, Germany
Plonger et puiser, HAB galerie, Nantes, France
2021
Oak Barrel Baroque, Fondazione La Raia, Novi Ligure, Italy (permanent installation)
2020
Keep beating below 65°, Pinksummer, Genoa, Italy
2018
Råby Planet, Västerås, Sweden
2017
Guest at JoyCom’s, Galerie Nagel Draxler, Berlin, Germany
Pipeline Field, Frac Alsace, Sélestat, France
Criss cross garage, Pinksummer, Genoa, Italy
Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt, Germany
2016
Pump House, Spike Island, Bristol, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham, UK
Galeria Heinrich Ehrhardt, Madrid, Spain
2015
Moby Dick, Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
Wechselstuben, Kunstverein am Rosa Luxemburg Platz, Berlin, Germany
2014
Arbeiten, Produzieren, Verhalten, Verhandeln, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Switzerland
Polder Peil, WIlhelmina Polder, Zeeland, The Netherlands
Haus Beutler, Bielefelder Kunstverein, Bielefeld, Germany
Pipeline field, Chapelle St Jacques, Saint-Gaudens, France
Ballenernte, Kunstareal München / Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
Haus Beutler, La Loge, Brussels, Belgium
2013
Galerie Nagel Draxler, Berlin, Germany
Maison Saucisson, Atelier Calder, Saché, France
Knock Knock, Le Grand Café, Saint-Nazaire, France
2012
Sensor, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany
2011
Kunsthalle Lingen, Lingen (Ems), Germany
2010
Galerie Bärbel Grässlin, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Galerie Christian Nagel, Cologne, Germany
2009
7×14 Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, Germany
Fortino #1 Fondazione Broadbeck, Catania, Italy
Kunstverein St. Pauli, Hamburg, Germany
2008
Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
Stuck o flab, dèpendance, Brussels, Belgium
Spitta steige, After the butcher, Berlin, Germany
Sopra / Sotto, Franco Soffiantino Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
2007
Galerie Christian Nagel, Berlin, Germany
Portikus, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
2006
Aluminium Pagode, LAC Lufthansa Aviation Center, Frankfurt Airport, Germany (permanent installation)
Manin City, Villa Manin, Passariano di Codroipo, Italy
2005
pecafil, Galerie Michael Neff, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Franco Soffiantino Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
Museumsstraße Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
outdoor-yellow12/irrgarten, Botanischer Garten, Munich, Germany
Taking the Matter into Common Hands, IASPIS, Stockholm, Sweden
2004
Signal, Malmö, Sweden
Oldenburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg, Germany
Kunstverein Heilbronn, Heilbronn, Germany
Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
Kunstverein Solothurn, Switzerland
Nicht innen sondern außen – nicht drinnen sondern draußen, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Flip, Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
Proper en Droog, dèpendance, Brussels, Belgium
2003
Galerie Michael Neff, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Galerie Barbara Wien, Berlin, Germany
2002
Wiener Secession, Vienna, Austria
2001
dontmiss, Frankfurt, Germany
GROUP SHOWS
2025
SUPERMÖBEL, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany
2023
HOME IS WHERE YOU’RE HAPPY, Haus Mödrath, Kerpen, Germany
2021
1st Meseberg International for Contemporary Art, Galerie Nagel Draxler, Meseberg, Germany
2019
Werkleitz Festival, Dessau, Germany
Art Encounters Biennial, Timisoara, Romania
Freundschaftsspiel Sammlung Grässlin: Museum für Neue Kunst, Freiburg, Switzerland
2018
Luz, Galeria Heinrich Erhardt, Madrid, Spain
Birds, Oldenburger Kunstverein, Oldenburg, Germany
Soziale Fassaden. Ein Dialog der Sammlungen des MMK und der DekaBank, MMK, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Pictorial Goose Turn – Pinksummer goes to Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Yesterday, Today, Today, Kunstraum Buchberg, Schloss Buchberg am Kamp, Austria
2017
Primary Structures, MMK2, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany
Viva Arte Viva, 57th Venice Biennale, Italy
2016
Wetransform, Neues Museum, Nuremberg, Germany
Fever variations, Gwangju Biennale, South Korea
Kenpoku Art Festival, Hitachi-Omiya, Japan
2015
Eppur si muove, MUDAM, Luxembourg
Ärger im Paradies, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Gegen den Strich, Kunstfestspiele Herrenhausen, Hannover, Germany
2014
Body Life in your Head, Geneva, Switzerland
Living in the Material World, Kunstmuseum Krefeld, Krefeld, Galerie imTaxispalais, Innsbruck, Austria
Backdoor Fantasies Kai 10 Arthena Foundation, Düsseldorf, Germany
Plastic Age, ERES-Stiftung, Munich, Germany
Play Time, Rennes Biennale, Rennes, France
2013
Decorum, Musée d‘Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France
Risk Society, MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, Taiwan
I knOw yoU, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
2012
Slg. Wilhelm Otto Nachf., Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Düren, Germany
No Desaster, Sammlung Haubrok bei Falckenberg / Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
Wie kommt das Neue in die Welt, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany
La vie des formes, Les Abattoirs / Frac Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
Das Atelier. Orte der Produktion, Kunstmuseum Lucerne, Switzerland
30 Künstler/30 Räume, Kunstverein Nürnberg, Nuremberg, Germany
Manufacture, CentrePasquArt, Bienne, Switzerland
Sammlung Marx, National Museum in Szczecin, Poland
2011
Skulpturales Handeln, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
Thomas Bayrle curates (reluctantly) Schrippenking with a p?, Galerie Mezzanin, Vienna, Austria
Melanchotopia, Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Flaca“, Portikus, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
MMK 1991 – 2011, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Manufacture, Parc Saint Leger / Centre d’Art Contemporain, Pougues-les-Eaux, France, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, UK
Open House, Singapore Biennale, Singapore
2010
People meet in Architecture, Venice Biennale of Architecture, Italy
Material World: Extraordinary Environments from Ordinary Things, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, MASS MoCA, North Adams, USA
Sketches of space, MUDAM, Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
Werk 2010, Heidenheim an der Brenz, Germany
Galerie Christian Nagel, Antwerp, Belgium
Leinen los! 85. Herbstausstellung niedersächsischer Künstler, Kunstverein Hannover, Germany
Paradise Lost – Holidays In Hell, Centro Cultural Andratx – CCA, Andratx, Spain
Arrivals and Departures, Fondo Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona, Italy
New works, Basis Frankfurt, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
2009
Open Source, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Bulletin Board Blvd., Pro Choice, Vienna, Austria
2008
My Space.Cosa vuol dire “pubblico”? PAN – Palazzo delle Arti di Napoli, Neaples, Italy
Casa sem dono, Casa Triangulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Uturn“, Quadriennal for Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
Fusion/Confusion, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany
Ad Absurdum, Städtische Kunsthalle Nordhorn / MARTA Herford, Germany
APPELL, Museum Felix de Boeck, Brussels, Belgium
Vertrautes Terrain ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany
Kunstmaschinen Maschinenkunst, Tinguely Museum, Basel, Switzerland
Psychobuildings, Hayward Gallery, London, UK
Personal Protocols and other Preferencies, CCS Bard College, New York, USA
2007
Modelle für Morgen, European Kunsthalle, Cologne, Germany
Dèpendance at galerie neu Galerie Neu, Berlin, Germany
Encuentro Internacional de Medellín 07, Medellín, Colombia
Made in Germany, Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover, Germany
perspektive 07, Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany
Verwendungsnachweis, Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Kunstmaschinen Maschinenkunst Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Into it Kunstverein Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany
2006
Von Mäusen und Menschen, 4th Berlin Biennale, Germany
Playstation, Sprengelmuseum, Hannover, Germany
Bonanza, Tilton Gallery, New York, USA
Bühne des Lebens. Rhetorik des Gefühls, Kunstbau Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany
Don Quixote, Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Fever Variations, 6th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
Housewarming, SWISS Institute, New York, USA
2005
From our cold hands, VTO, Londra, UK
Dialectics of hope, 1st Moscow Biennale, Russia
Bench, Kunsthalle St. Gallen / Bonner Kunstverein, Bonne, Germany
Memphis, Flaca Gallery, London, UK
Lore, Project Room, Glasgow, UK
Negotiating Realities, International Göteborg Biennale for Contemporary Art, Sweden
Quattro Flaca, Kunsthaus Langenthal, Switzerland
Frieze Projects, Frieze Art Fair, London, UK
Present Future, Artissima, Turin, Italy
2004
Was ist in meiner Wohnung, wenn ich nicht da bin?, Greifswalderstr.212, Berlin, Germany
The Savoy, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
Sculpture Garden, Old Street Roundabout, London, UK
Universal Outstretch, Flaca Gallery, London, UK
Heimweh, Haunch of Venison Bruton Street, London, UK
No money, Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
2003
Utopia Station Sindelfingen, Städtische Galerie, Sindelfingen, Germany
Total motiviert/The state of the upper floor: Panorama, Kunstverein München, Munich, Germany
Make it new!, Portikus/Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
2002
Terrassen, mit / with Henning Bohl, Kjubh Kunstverein, Cologne, Germany
Origami rückwärts, Technoplus, Paris, France
Fluten, Hinterconti, Hamburg, Germany
easy-heavy, with Sunah Choi, Luftraum, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Whitecubeponderosa, Griesinger Schule, Frankfurth Am Main, Germany (permanent installation)
Michael Pfrommer / Mandla Reuter, Lothringerstraße 13/Laden, Munich, Germany
2001
Sour Cherry Soup (Meggyleves), Mafuji Gallery, London, UK
Interim, Mackintosh Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, UK
Trash Art Festival, Gazi, Athens, Greece
Ausstellung Wohnung Draschan/Wolff, with Lise Harlev, Vienna, Austria
Museumsshop, Stellwerk, Kassel, Germany
Haiku Installation, Unit2, London and Podium Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, UK
Vasistas, Technische Universität, Instanbul, Turkey
New Heimat, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
2000
Und was machen wir heute, Steinweghalle, Oldenburg, Germany
Städelschule Frankfurt am Main – Büropark Neu Isenburg, Frankfurterstrasse 127, Neu Isenburg, Germany (permanent installation)
ISBN 3-9805670-3-6, Hanauer Landstrasse 133, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Membersshow, Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, UK
Festival Junger Talente, Messehallen, Offenbach Am Main, Germany
1999
Neue Räume, c/o Rathenaustrasse, Offenbach Am Main, Germany
Jailbreak, Phantombüro, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Transformation Delta, Stellwerk, Kassel, Germany
1998
Stuttgart, 17.7.1956 – Salem (Wis.)/USA, 3.3.1977, Portikus, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Michael Beutler
Moby Dick, 2016
Spector Books
Edited by Anna M. Szaflarski, Melanie Roumiguière, Melanie Roumiguière and Udo Kittelmann
Pages: 208
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-3959050289
Jeroen Boomgard, Frits de Coninck, Kathrin Ginsberg, Philip Kaiser, Theo Tegelaers
Polder Peil, 2014
Catalogue for the Land Art project Polder Peil (2009-2014).
CBK, Zeeland
Edited by Katharin Ginsberg and Theo Tegelaers
Languages: Dutch/English
ISBN: 9789063541828
Michael Beutler
Kottgubbar, 2008
Bonniers Konsthall
Edited by Sara Arrhenius, Kim Einarsson, Polly Staple
Pages: 160
Languages: Swedish/English
Michael Beutler
Pecafil, 2006
Edited by Nicolaus Schafhausen and Katja Schroeder, Frankfurter Kunstverein
Testi di Thomas Bayrle, Maria Lind, Ariane Müller
Pages: 100
Languages: English/German
ISBN: 9780974568850
Michael Beutler
Secession, 2003
Edited by Matthias Herrmann, Gregory Williams, Stefanie Kleefeld
Pages: 24
Languages: English/German
ISBN: 390192650X