Isa Genzken and the biennial presence from São Paulo to Los Angeles
Published on 08/21/2026 at 16:09 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Isa Genzken has long linked sculpture, architecture and the street in a way few contemporaries can match. Her recent institutional and gallery projects in Copenhagen, New York and Los Angeles underline how present her work remains in the international exhibition circuit.
Biennials and large-scale shows
The most visible marker of Isa Genzken’s current institutional reach is the exhibition World Receiver at Den Frie in Copenhagen, which ran from February 6 to April 5, 2026 and has been described as her first institutional solo show in Scandinavia. Art Viewer overview
Den Frie focused on assemblages and mannequin-based tableaux from the 2000s onwards, positioning Genzken’s concrete Weltempfänger forms as conceptual anchors linking earlier minimal sculpture to later, more theatrical installations. Brooklyn Rail review
From São Paulo to Los Angeles
Alongside this Scandinavian presence, Isa Genzken appeared in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, which ran from September 6, 2025 to January 11, 2026 at Fundação Bienal, underscoring how firmly her work sits in the global biennial circuit. David Zwirner artist news
Her gallery program in 2026 spans David Zwirner’s Tribeca solo show VACATION, Galerie Buchholz’s New York presentation Projects for Outside - ISA USA and Hauser & Wirth’s multipart project Wasserspeier and Angels, whose Los Angeles chapter extends through August 16, 2026, linking New York and West Coast audiences in a single curatorial arc.
More news and background on Isa Genzken
For additional reporting on Isa Genzken’s exhibitions, biennial contributions and institutional projects, our archive offers further context on past retrospectives and key market moments.
The work core and media
Isa Genzken’s practice spans lacquered wooden columns, concrete radios, photographic series and increasingly dense sculptural assemblages, often built from mannequins, everyday products and fragments of urban architecture that form fragile stage-like constellations.
Current state of the work
Isa Genzken’s recent cycle of exhibitions across Copenhagen, New York and Los Angeles underlines an active international practice with no publicly announced new date in the immediate 30-day window beyond the closing of Wasserspeier and Angels in Los Angeles on August 16, 2026.
Key facts on Isa Genzken
- Artist: Isa Genzken
- Medium / Genre: Sculpture and installation (mixed media, assemblage)
- Born: 1948, Bad Oldesloe, Germany
- Place(s) of practice: Studio in Berlin
- Active since: Early 1970s, with early recognition for minimalist wooden sculptures
- Key work groups: Ellipsoids, Hyberbolos, Weltempfänger (World Receivers), Schauspieler mannequins
- Current/last exhibition: Wasserspeier and Angels, Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, February 24–August 16, 2026
- Major collections: MoMA (New York), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam)
- Awards: Several European art prizes and honors documented in institutional biographies
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Isa Genzken
Where has Isa Genzken recently been on view?
In 2026 Isa Genzken’s work featured in the institutional solo exhibition World Receiver at Den Frie in Copenhagen and in the multipart gallery project Wasserspeier and Angels at Hauser & Wirth, including a chapter in Downtown Los Angeles.
What was shown in Isa Genzken’s exhibition World Receiver in Copenhagen?
The exhibition at Den Frie brought together landmark assemblages and mannequin-based installations from recent decades, highlighting her use of everyday materials, luxury products and images in dense sculptural constellations.
How is Isa Genzken represented in recent biennials and large-scale projects?
Isa Genzken participated in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, running from September 6, 2025 to January 11, 2026, and continues to appear in international institutional and gallery programs in Europe and the Americas.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
