Simon Starling and the recent museum landscape
Published on 08/27/2026 at 16:50 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Simon Starling has built a sustained presence in European museums through conceptually dense installations and research-based projects. His recent institutional shows in Winterthur and Kendal underline how collections use his work to probe histories of painting, migration and material transformation, as documented by Kunst Museum Winterthur and Lakeland Arts.
Museum shows across Europe
The Kunst Museum Winterthur in Switzerland has dedicated the exhibition The Artist, Wearing a Mask of Adolph Menzel, Holds Plaster Casts of the Ambidextrous German Painter’s Left and Right Hands (and Other Interventions) to Starling’s dialogue with the 19th-century German painter. This show runs at Reinhart am Stadtgarten from February 28 to July 5, 2026, positioning Menzel’s small winter scene from 1847 as the starting point for a room-sized reconstruction of the depicted back yards, including frame and architectural volume.
The museum places Starling’s installation among works from the Oskar Reinhart Foundation, effectively staging a conversation between historical painting and contemporary conceptual practice. A shorter overview on a European art radar site highlights this Winterthur exhibition as one of 37 notable shows closing in July 2026, emphasizing Starling’s use of 3D printing and photographic documentation to connect past and present urban space.
Boat Works and migration motifs
Parallel to Winterthur, Lakeland Arts in England has presented the solo exhibition Simon Starling: Boat Works in Kendal and at Windermere Jetty Museum. The project, running at Abbot Hall from September 20, 2025 to March 14, 2026, gathers Starling’s boat-related works to explore migration, metamorphosis and transformation through sculptural and filmic narratives.
Sculpture Magazine notes that Boat Works includes an archive section where six works are documented across vitrines, emphasizing Starling’s long-term engagement with maritime materials and narratives of movement. A review on The Fourdrinier describes the double-site presentation at Abbot Hall and Windermere Jetty Museum, pointing out how Starling uses boat hulls, converted structures and documentary material to stage questions about passage, displacement and ecological change.
Further news and background on Simon Starling
For more coverage of Simon Starling’s exhibitions, museum projects and conceptual installations, the AD HOC NEWS archive offers additional reports and market context.
The conceptual core of the work
Starling’s practice links sculpture, installation, photography and film to longer chains of production and historical reference. The Tate St Ives program, which announces Simon Starling: Recent History as his first major UK exhibition since winning the Turner Prize in 2005, stresses how his projects investigate art and design histories, scientific discoveries and global economic and ecological issues.
Where the artist stands now
Against this backdrop, Simon Starling’s recent museum projects in Winterthur and Kendal consolidate his position as a reference point for institutions that seek to address historical painting, migration and material transformation through conceptual installation.
Key facts on Simon Starling
- Artist: Simon Starling
- Medium / Genre: Installation art, sculpture, conceptual photography
- Born: 1967, Epsom, United Kingdom
- Place(s) of practice: Lives and works in Copenhagen and Berlin
- Active since: Early 1990s, with emergence from the Glasgow art scene and subsequent international exhibitions.
- Key work groups: Shedboatshed, Boat Works, Project for an Exhibition, Part 2, Metamorphology
- Current/last exhibition: The Artist, Wearing a Mask of Adolph Menzel, Holds Plaster Casts of the Ambidextrous German Painter’s Left and Right Hands (and Other Interventions), Kunst Museum Winterthur, Reinhart am Stadtgarten, February 28 - July 5, 2026
- Major collections: Works held in major European and North American collections, including Tate (London), MCA Chicago and a range of regional museums, as documented by institutional programs and artist biographies.
- Awards: Turner Prize, 2005
- Next date: currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Simon Starling
Where has Simon Starling recently exhibited his work?
In 2026, Simon Starling has shown at Kunst Museum Winterthur with the installation-based exhibition focused on Adolph Menzel’s 1847 painting, and at Abbot Hall in Kendal with the solo exhibition Boat Works exploring migration and metamorphosis.
What is central to Simon Starling’s project Boat Works?
Boat Works gathers Starling’s boat-related projects, using reconstructed vessels, installations and documentary elements to address themes of migration, transformation and ecological change in a Lake District setting that connects land, water and history.
Which major award has Simon Starling received?
Simon Starling received the Turner Prize in 2005, with his work Shedboatshed emblematic of his interest in material transformation, recycling processes and the narrative implications of moving structures through different contexts.
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.
