Befehl zur Freiheit / Command to Freedom
On March 12, 2026, CONTACT Art Project Space opens in Rome at Via Rattazzi 10
—a new curatorial platform dedicated to contemporary artistic research and production.
Located in the heart of Esquilino, one of the city’s most dynamic and intercultural neighborhoods, the space emerges as an environment for activation and experimentation, positioning itself as an alternative to traditional exhibition models by privileging process-oriented practices, in- progress formats, and display devices that render the research dimension visible.
Skeletonized_Espresso_Machine_Fountain_2016
e.Lk
chromosome
front view at contact gallery
Skeletonized_Espresso_Machine_Fountain_2016
bar desk and tool board
structure & gravity
e.Lk1.2
Skeletonized_Espresso_Machine_Fountain_2016
structure & gravity
lungcorset
Crustacean
Befehl zur Freiheit
Crustacean
Befehl zur Freiheit
structure & gravity
Befehl zur Freiheit / Crustacean
Skeletonized_Espresso_Machine_Fountain_2016
e.Lk 2.1
Crustacean
structure & gravity
Crustacean
open buffet
Crustacean
Crustacean
e.Lk1.2
lungcorset
e.Lk 2.1
lungcorset
e.Lk
open buffet
open buffet
structure & gravity
back room at Contact / Chromosome and e.Lk
e.Lk
lungcorset
–
Sebastian Ziegler
The opening exhibition presents the work of Sebastian Ziegler, a German-Finnish artist
whose practice spans video, interactive sculpture, and installation.
Born in Victorville, California, and raised in Bremen, Germany, Ziegler graduated from the
University of the Arts Bremen in 2006. Since 2011, he has been based in Finland, where he
combines his artistic research with cultural organization. He is a member of the Artist
Union, Arte ry, Music, and BBK-Bremen, and is the founder and co-director of Videokaffe, an
international collective promoting intercultural dialogue and artistic experimentation.
www.sebastianziegler.info
www.videokaffe.com
Artist Statement
–
“Command to Freedom”
Change
— and more precisely the compulsion to change —
lies at the core of this exhibition. It may seem paradoxical to speak of freedom as a command: how can freedom exist where there is an order?
I observe crustaceans and their exoskeletons, which they shed in order to grow. A structure gives form, but when does a structure cease to support and begin to limit? When does internal pressure force us to abandon what is
known and safe in order to become vulnerable? If this moment is ignored, one risks bursting like a balloon. Yet there is also the possibility of
transformation, and space for a silent moment of contemplation. Forms can leap toward unknown configurations. I build geometric wooden structures that collapse upon themselves.