25.03.2023 – 07.01.2024 Renaissance 3.0. Neue Allianzen von Kunst und Wissenschaft im 21. Jahrhundert, ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe, GER
18.09.2025-01.02.2026 Thomas Feuerstein, METABOLICA, MQ Freiraum im MuseumsQuartier, Vienna, AT

published:
Thomas Feuerstein. METABOLICA, ed. Bettina Leidl/Verena Kaspar-Eisert, Schlebrügge.Editor Verlag, ISBN 978-3-903447-34-9, Vienna 2025, S. 23, 40, 105.

The bacteria themselves become important collaborators of the artist by metabolizing fatty acids enriched in algae into the bioplastic PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate), thereby producing the material from which the sculptures—either 3D-printed or hand-shaped—are made. For the forms, Feuerstein draws inspiration from works by artists such as Michelangelo, Louise Bourgeois, and Alberto Giacometti. The same bacteria are also capable of decomposing the PHB sculptures—an emblem of cycle, transformation, and a new way of thinking about natural resources. (Exhibition text, METABOLICA, MQ Freiraum, 2025)