Carsten Höller

Artist and doctor

Born in Brussels, Belgium, 1961. Lives and works in Stockholm.

Carsten Höller holds a doctorate in Biology, and he uses his training as a scientist in his work as an artist, concentrating particularly on the nature of human relationships. Viewer participation is the key to all of Höller’s sculptures, but it is less an end in itself than a vehicle to informally test the artist’s theories concerning human perception and physiological reactions. Equal parts scientific experiment and sensual encounter, Höller’s works are most frequently devoted to his singular obsession—chemically analyzing the nature of human emotions.

Carsten Höller has contributed on numerous occasions to the biennials in Lyon and Venice. He has exhibited widely in Europe, Asia and America and had major solo exhibitions at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Kunsthaus Bregenz; National Gallery of Canada, Shawinigan; Tate Modern, London; MAC-Musée d’art Contemporain, Marseille; and MASS MoCA. In 2008 Höller opened The Double Club in London in collaboration with Fondazione Prada.