Olaf Holzapfel, Parliament, 2026, installation view
© Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 2026, photo: Norbert Miguletz

Now at the SCHIRN: Olaf Holzapfel’s “Parlament”

08/12/2026

3 min reading time

Olaf Holzapfel
Context
Bockenheim
Society
Contemporary Art

In his work, the artist Olaf Holzapfel explores the materiality and design of architecture, sustainable cultural techniques, and the natural resources used in construction. For the SCHIRN in Bockenheim, he has created the outdoor sculpture “Parliament” (2026).

With this work, the SCHIRN is providing another artistic impulse in the outdoor space about one year after the museum’s temporal relocation—due to renovations—to the former Dondorf printing factory in Frankfurt’s Bockenheim district. The walk-through sculpture is made of timber framing with walls of willow and reed, along with a 7-meter-long, horizontal spruce log that can be used as a bench. The sculpture has an ephemeral quality due to the nature of its materials: it is exposed to the elements and the passage of time, and forms part of the natural cycle.
Located at the northeast entrance of the SCHIRN’s inner courtyard near Hall 2, the sculpture serves as both an eye-catcher and a meeting place. It creates an informal, designed, and publicly accessible retreat in the form of an intimate agora—a place for political debate.

Wooden scaffolding with straw and willow mats, surrounded by grass and gravel, under a cloudy sky.
sie werden dorthin zurückkehren. 2023 / BuGa Grounds / Mannheim. Walk-through installation at the BuGa grounds in Mannheim. Pine wood, straw, willow 21 x 8×4,5m
© Olaf Holzapfel

More-than-human entanglements

The title “Parliament” emphasizes the discursive aspect of the work, which specifically addresses the relationship between a society seeking order and the material spaces of nature and the city.

Holzapfel illustrates the connections between humans, technology, and nature based on the abstract aesthetics of weaving, arranging, and joining. Taking center stage are the materials, the creative engagement with them, and the sense of connection fostered across boundaries. At the same time, “Parliament” highlights the enduring relevance of craft traditions that exist across Europe. The structure, built from natural raw materials, stands out against Frankfurt’s skyline of high-rise buildings and speaks to the intra-European links of technical exchange that continue to shape Frankfurt’s urban society to this day.

“Olaf Holzapfel’s work is characterised by his use of natural materials, his interest in sustainability and a critical perspective by a world shaped by technology, as well as by a dialogue-oriented, interactive approach; these elements make his work a significant artistic voice in the debates of our time.”

Sebastian Baden, Director of the SCHIRN

Two people look at a thatched building in front of an old brick factory and a chimney.
Olaf Holzapfel, Parliament, 2026, installation view
© Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 2026, photo: Norbert Miguletz
Modern garden architecture: wooden structure with thatched roof and stairs, surrounded by trees and green landscape.
Olaf Holzapfel, Parliament, 2026, installation view
© Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, 2026, photo: Norbert Miguletz

About the Artist

Olaf Holzapfel lives and works in Berlin. He studied painting at the Dresden University of Fine Arts (HfBK). His work has been shown in many group and solo exhibitions and is well known internationally since his participation at the Venice Biennale 2011 and at documenta 14 in 2017. Moreover, he is the recipient of the Zurich Art Prize 2024.