Holger Kleine

Holger Kleine’s “Archimorphoses” are conceived as contributions to a drawn phenomenology of architecture. They explore themes inherent in every act of spatial creation: body and space, light and shadow, geometry and antinomy. Rooted in the tradition of autonomous architectural drawing established by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, these atmospherically dense colored-pencil drawings are grounded in literary references. The four cycles take their starting points from idiosyncratic readings of the biblical Book of Genesis, Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*, Marcel Proust’s *In Search of Lost Time*, and Robert Musil’s *The Man Without Qualities*. However, they do not illustrate the texts; rather, they transform their themes, motifs, and methods into architectural forms. This poetic approach reveals the affinities and differences between literature and architecture, between verbal and drawn fiction, and between constructible and built manifestations of space. In the process, the drawing once again proves to be the true “experimental space” (Jörg H. Gleiter) for architects.

For several years now, Berlin-based architect and Wiesbaden university professor Holger Kleine (*1962) has been exploring fundamental themes in architecture through colorful drawings, sketches, diagrams, and analytical drawings. The drawings captivate viewers with their exceptional graphic qualities, which, together with the often enigmatic themes of the works—ones that are not immediately apparent—form an inseparable whole.

Holger Kleine has participated in group exhibitions in Venice and New York, among other places. The exhibition in Stuttgart is the first comprehensive solo exhibition of his series of drawings. He publishes his essays in publications such as *Der Architekt*, *Lettre International*, and the *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung*.

Opening: October 28, 2026, 7 p.m.
Introduction by Prof. Holger Kleine

Gallery Talk: November 24, 2026, 7 p.m.
On Bodies, Spaces, and Light
Holger Kleine in conversation with Susanne Grötz and Klaus Jan Philipp