In thereafter, Ian Waelder connects the façade, atrium, and arcade hall of the Kestner Gesellschaft for the first time to form a spatial narrative between inside and outside, past and present. His works begin at the edges of the rememberable: familial traces, biographical fractures, everyday remnants – not as evidence, but as fragile carriers of a story that resists linear narration.

At the center of Waelder’s solo exhibition stands a labyrinthine structure made of cardboard, evoking the image of a packed moving box. The offset entrance of the arcaded hall diverts the gaze away from clear paths. Inside, sculptures, newspaper collages, a piano melody, and the materiality of cardboard and light condense into a dense assemblage—including a newspaper article covered with oats and traces of butter with the headline “Erbarmen” (“Mercy”), a deformed shoe last with a porcelain-like nose titled Sprain (38) (2023), and molded components from the Bystander (2025) series with dangling shoelaces. These are traces of domestic routines that elude concrete memory and yet evoke a strangely familiar atmosphere.

Curated by: Alexander Wilmschen
Curatorial Assistance: Emilia Radmacher

kestnergesellschaft.de/en/exhibition/105