Exhibitions
Hito Steyerl: Quicksand
Hito Steyerl
Curated by Federica Matelli
GRANOLLERS
Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts
Dents de Serra – Carrer d’Enric Prat de la Riba, 77
From October 16 to November 23
Hours
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Friday: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
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Saturday: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
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Sunday: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
“Quicksand” invites us into the shifting sands of 21st-century infocracy—a relentless tide of spam, online static, and suffocating data smog. Featuring three of Hito Steyerl’s most iconic works—Is the Museum a Battlefield? (2013), Liquidity Inc. (2014), and Duty Free Art (2015)—this exhibition charts a path through the defining currents of our time: capital flows, digital technology, war, and the increasingly blurred role of cultural institutions.
Recognized as one of the most influential artists and thinkers in contemporary digital video art, Steyerl weaves archival material, visual essay, and institutional critique into immersive installations that are both razor-sharp and deeply provocative. Quicksand offers a space to pause and reflect on the place of art and images in a world shaped by algorithms, financial turbulence, and mediated narratives.
Hito Steyerl
Artist, filmmaker, and theorist, Hito Steyerl (Munich, 1966) is an international reference in contemporary video art. During her education, at institutions in Tokyo, Munich, and Vienna, she studied art, communication, and philosophy. This range of disciplines is reflected both in her video production and in her writings and essays. Her work explores the impact of the internet and digital technologies on the image, and how this paradigm shift has influenced everyday life and the global sociopolitical context.
She has received recognitions such as the Erich Fromm Prize (2025), the Käthe Kollwitz Prize (2019), and the EYE Prize (2015). She has held solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Museo Reina Sofía, and MoMA, and has participated in international biennials such as those of Venice, Berlin, São Paulo, and Gwangju. She has also worked as a professor at institutions such as the Munich Art Academy and the University of Arts Berlin, where she co-founded the Research Centre for Proxy Politics. Her work is part of major museum collections worldwide.
Federica Matelli
Federica Matelli is a researcher, lecturer, and independent curator. She holds a PhD in Theory and History of Contemporary Art from the University of Barcelona and a degree in Philosophy. Her work adopts an interdisciplinary approach, linking art, everyday life, philosophy, and cultural studies. She has collaborated with national and international institutions and has received two bronze awards from ADG Laus and ADCE for the project Ciutat. El futur no té data (Terrassa Comissariat 2021). In 2025–26, she was selected for the Temporals programme with 7642. Sempre estaré per a tu. She teaches at BAU and UIC, is a member of the research groups AGI (UB) and GREDITS (BAU), and is part of the advisory board of the Panoràmic festival. She is currently collaborating with the publisher Holobionte.
