Christian Boltanski (*1944 in Paris), one of the most important artists of our time, is a master at staging situations and spaces. His work evokes and questions powerful central parameters of human existence such as life span, identity, body, death, and legacy.

In a site-specific installation at the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, Boltanski combines previous work with new ones to create an all-encompassing Gesamtkunstwerk. The cathedral-height halls of the exhibition are turned into a space that echoes Boltanski’s autobiography, which—whether fictional or real—is always the foundation for his art of memory.

This monograph, conceived and produced in close cooperation with the artist and compiled by Ralf Beil, documents this unique artistic event, using philosophical, literary, and art-historical essays, as well as an interview with the artist, to sound the depths of this singular space as it echoes Boltanski’s art.