Silver Egg. The Eros of Media Art

Press Release

Engaging With the Longings and Shortcomings of Our Time:
ZKM Presents Major Exhibition Exploring Media Art and Sensuality

Eros, the god of passionate love, appears as a primal force for cultural evolution and renewal in myths and philosophy. He is the source of the connective forces influencing the artistic, scientific, and social practices of humans. He stimulates the desire to become active in this world and to engage in processes of life and creativity. The exhibition “Silver Egg: The Eros of Media Art” brings together around fifty international artistic positions whose engaged, experimental, and poetic works represent an erotic attitude towards the world. Through a broad spectrum of artistic media, these works explore contemporary relationships between society, art, ecology, and technology. “The central question is what motivates artists and visitors to connect with the world on a sensual level and take creative action today,” explains curator Anett Holzheid.

A video introduction to the exhibition by the curator is available here:
Silver Egg in 90 Seconds

Press tour: July 3, 2026, 11 am
Opening: July 3, 2026, 7 pm

Erotic Attraction as a Principle of Life
Since antiquity, Eros has embodied the dynamic principle of life in art, mythology, and philosophy. As a sensuous visual and conceptual figure, he represents not only erotic desire, but also the driving force behind cultural evolution and renewal.

According to an ancient creation myth, the creator god hatched from a silver cosmic egg as a principle of order emerging from primordial chaos. In Greek philosophy, Eros served as a mediator between heaven, earth, and the arts. His presence makes humans feel a sensual draw towards life and a desire to resonate with the world. The exhibition Silver Egg calls for this type of erotic attitude toward the world and asks: Which media and modes of perception do artists employ to engage with the longings and shortcomings of our time? Which choices do artists make in terms of content and form, and how do we engage with those positions as an audience?

Thinking and Experiencing Through All the Senses
The works in the exhibition immerse visitors in situations that invite them to abandon their habitual modes of media consumption in favor of a more sensuous engagement. By activating the senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and movement, the artworks convey contemporary ideas and insights through aesthetic experience. In their projects, the participating artists address life in endangered environments, media-saturated worlds, and socially constructed realms of aspiration and desire. 

Art Forms in Dynamic Interplay
The exhibition’s curatorial approach consciously embraces a broad spectrum of artistic media and genres. Featured are works spanning photography, film, ceramics, textile art, AI-based practices, body-sound compositions, sound and video installations, hybrid sculptures, as well as kinetic, sensory, and robotic artworks, alongside literature, painting, and music. The constellation of these works – including numerous newly commissioned ones – creates formal and thematic correspondences in the spirit of erotic attraction, inviting visitors to engage in deeper reflection alongside these interconnections. The exhibition also brings together the experiences and imaginaries of different artistic generations and cultural contexts.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a bilingual German–English publication and a program of workshops and educational outreach activities.

The exhibition features works by Marco Barotti, Honey Biba Beckerlee, Stefano della Bella, Bériou, Elda Cerrato, Salvador Dalí, Stine Deja, Edith Dekyndt, Frederik Duerinck, Margret Eicher, Anselm Feuerbach, Thomas Feuerstein, Christoph Girardet & Matthias Müller, Johan Grimonprez, Andreas Gursky, Philippe Halsman, Derek Jarman, Jonas Jørgensen & Cody Lukas, Yunchul Kim, Angelina Kozhevnikova (Animaspace), Gašper Kunšič, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Karen Lancel & Herman Maat, Eunhee Lee, Shuang Li, Bernd Lintermann, Richard Mosse, Alicja Patanowska, Irving Penn, Charmaine Poh, Helen Pynor & Gail Priest, Gerhard Richter & Corinna Belz, Pipilotti Rist, robotlab, Günter Scharein, Nika Schmitt, Tristan Schulze, Jill Scott, Jessica Segall, Ief Spincemaille, Ajla R. Steinvåg & René Aquarius, Stelarc, Sissel Marie Tonn, Timm Ulrichs, Milja Viita, ::vtol::, Yeongju Yang, and Weidi Zhang & Rodger Luo.