Meyer Riegger is pleased to present An ideal for living (The insect societies, prototype), a solo exhibition by Henrik Håkansson, on view from 13 June to 25 July 2025 at Meyer Riegger, Karlsruhe. This exhibition furthers Håkansson’s inquiry into the relational dynamics between biological systems and aesthetic structures. The exhibition centres on a series of sculptural works that reference the modular plywood and aluminium constructions of Donald Judd and Minimal Art. Håkansson reconfigures these Minimalist forms rooted in Judd’s legacy by introducing organic materials intended to attract and support insect life. These sculptural objects function both as aesthetic structures and as ecological micro-environments, blurring the boundaries between art object and living system.

Complementing these is a group of large-scale works on linen, produced in collaboration with insects. Treated with attractants derived from natural substances, the canvases undergo gradual alteration through insect feeding patterns. The resulting surfaces, marked by eroded textures and irregular perforations, operate simultaneously as records of biological processes and as material interventions in painterly practice.

As Håkansson has noted, these works are not conceived as static representations but as temporal events – sites of interaction between human authorship and non-human agency. The exhibition as a whole explores the dynamics of co-production and environmental embeddedness within the context of contemporary artistic practice.