Benedikt Hartl

My studio is my sponsored by German taxpayers. Thanx!!!! 🙂

What I do in one sentence: Always exactly the opposite of what the client wants.

Why I didn’t get a “proper” job: I can’t sit in one place for hours without plotting an escape. Staring at a screen makes my head hurt, and I’d probably get too distracted trying to cheat my boss by not working properly.

An artwork I dream of and I would get accomplished if space, time and money were abundant: A massive installation – a deportation camp for Trump and his friends. They’d spend eternity there, contemplating their “alternative facts,” surrounded by mirrors and tweets. It would be the greatest deportation camp I have ever built!

Why I do what I do: Actually, a good question when you look at the current political situation of the world!

Artists, I have on my watch list (and why): Honestly, just me. Everyone else is either too predictable or lacks skill. And let’s face it: I’m the only one pushing boundaries… by actively avoiding them altogether.

I am afraid of Elon, Trump, and JD destroying our societies.

I know that a piece is finished when time is over. As an architect, I mostly have deadlines.

How I want to be buried resp. words I want to be written on my tombstone: I believe I am very unpretentious, especially when it comes to death. After me, the flood…

Benedikt Hartl, Villa Massimo Fellow 2024/25. Studio visit in Benedikt’s studio at Villa Massimo in Rome.