florian borkenhagen – nomadic objects

05 march – 04 april 2026

Florian Borkenhagen’s work revolves around objects that are never still. They travel, carry, transform, and remember. Rather than producing autonomous sculptures or functional design pieces, Borkenhagen creates nomadic objects—works that exist in a state of transit, both physically and conceptually.

Suitcases, chairs, globes, glass vessels, found materials and everyday structures are reassembled into poetic carriers of meaning. These objects resist fixed interpretation. They suggest movement, displacement, pilgrimage, and sometimes quiet absurdity. Function is not removed entirely, but suspended—held in a delicate balance between usefulness and metaphor.

Travel in Borkenhagen’s work is not about distance, but about experience and narration. Objects become companions, witnesses, or repositories of memory. They absorb the places they pass through and the contexts in which they appear. A globe enclosed in a suitcase, a chair that can no longer be sat on, or a fragile glass form combined with rough materials—all propose a shift in how we relate to objects: not as static possessions, but as participants in lived time.

This Viewing Room focuses on mobility as a philosophical condition. It brings together works that reflect on transit, fragility, and transformation, highlighting Borkenhagen’s unique position between sculpture, design, and conceptual art. His objects do not demand attention through monumentality; instead, they invite closeness, curiosity, and reflection.

In Nomadic Objects, movement becomes a way of thinking—and the object, a vehicle for storytelling.

© Florian Borkenhagen 'Boccaporto' courtesy ammann//gallery

Boccaporto / Hatchway

year: 2018
material: antique hatchway, metal, rubber
measurements: w 71 x d 65 x h 30 cm
w 28 x d 25.6 x h 11.8 inches
unique

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Topen

year: 2009
material: wood and metal
measurements: w 70 x d 50 x h 114 cm
w 27.6 x d 19.7 x h 44.9 inches
unique

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SCV II

year: 2009
material: steel, wood, armchairs
measurements: w 140 x d 65 x h 89 cm
w 55.1 x d 25.6 x h 35 inches
unique

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© Florian Borkenhagen 'Weltenträger' courtesy ammann//gallery

Weltenträger / World Carrier

year: 2018
material: old suitcase with metal fittings, glass globus, lighting
measurements: w 60 x d 40 x h 20 cm
w 23.6 x d 15.7 x h 7.9 inches
unique

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© Florian Borkenhagen 'Faro' courtesy ammann//gallery

FARO / Lighthouse

year: 2016
material: handcut glass, steel
measurements: ø 90 x h 210.5 cm
ø 35.4 x h 82.9 inches
unique

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© Florian Borkenhagen 'Weltenbrüterstuhl' courtesy ammann//gallery

Weltenbrüterstuhl / World Incubator Chair

year: 2015
material: wood, glass
measurements: w 43 x d 48 x h 82 cm
w 16.9 x d 18.9 x h 32.3 inches
unique

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Lucio

year: 2017
material: digital c-type print mounted on aluminium dibond, framed
measurements: w 165 x h 108 cm
w 65 x h 42.5 inches
edition: 3 + 1 a.p.

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© Florian Borkenhagen 'Liegeplatz' courtesy ammann//gallery

Liegeplatz / Moorage

year: 2010/16
material: metal, wood, cushion; textile design: Toyine Sellers
measurements: w 285 x d 90 x h 80 cm
w 112.2 x d 35.4 x h 31.5 inches
unique

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biography

the work of florian borkenhagen (germany, 1959), a professor at the academy of fashion & design hamburg, consciously blurs the interface between art and design as he challenges perceptions of everyday objects through deconstruction and transformations. the banal found object becomes an artwork, and a deeper meaning arises through its adaptation. borkenhagen’s pieces often invite interaction and provide a new view of reality by reusing recognisable objects in conceptual and humorous ways.

movement is an important subject matter for borkenhagen and a common theme in his work, both in the physicality of his kinetic sculptures and the journey itself. this is evident in his early work, such as the “travel a-head “(1998-2000), a three-meter wooden sculpture of a head that the artist arranged to travel around the world on top of a container ship for two years. borkenhagen remarked, “i want to disturb the perception of the people and at the same time send an alter ego without weighing filter on trips. sculptural carts such as thronfolger, a leather seat attached to a wheelbarrow frame, and scv ii, two chairs with a partition like a confessional, are more than just recycling of disused vehicles; they also open up a playful interaction of mobility and a new work horizon.

borkenhagen participated in documenta 8 in kassel (1987) and worked from 1990 until 1995 in como, italy, where he founded the “laboratorio como”. the work that emerged during this period was devoted to “industrial archaeology”. ammann//gallery presented borkenhagen for the first time in 2009 in the solo show “transsakrales”, where he combined traditionally sacred elements with locomotive constructions, accomplishing new mobility devices and precious religious gems. since then, florian borkenhagen’s work has constantly been presented in various group and fair exhibitions with the gallery. in 2013, borkenhagen arranged a workshop titled fund-kunst- stücke at the museum für kunst und gewerbe in hamburg, germany. in the arte povera movement tradition, borkenhagen and the participants collected together garbage and transformed it into unique art pieces.