In Catasterism, Italian artist Giorgio Andreotta Calò (1979) transforms the Hedge House at the country estate Kasteel Wijlre into a sensory total installation of sculpture, light and architecture.
The building, designed by Wiel Arets, is approached as a living entity: an organic ecosystem in which artworks, space and the history of the site subtly enter into dialogue with one another.
The exhibition departs from the estate’s unique relationship with water — an element that brings life but can also cause destruction, as demonstrated by the flooding of the Hedge House in 2021.
In a new installation, Calò evokes an enigmatic underwater world. Bronze sculptures bear traces of erosion, mysterious shell-like forms appear to grow from the walls, and mythological stories merge with natural processes.
Through his “slow” artistic practice, Calò invites visitors to look differently at time, nature and climate. The installation transforms the Hedge House into a poetic, almost otherworldly landscape in which art, architecture and the surrounding environment merge.
