Meeting the universe halfway, between introspection and simplicity: Maya Hottarek & Sebastian Haas

4th - 6th April 2025 

3rd April 2025, VIP and Press Review

MiArt Milano Art Fair 2025

Booth E42

Starting from a profound review of the Cartesian dualism of mind and matter - in support of a thesis according to which matter, instead of being exclusively inert, is in fact composed of subatomic elements in constant turmoil - this exhibition project, conceived especially for the 2025 edition of miart, intends to emphasize the active character of all entities, human and non-human alike, that form things and animate them, thus counteracting the prevailing solipsistic anthropocentrism. Thus, in a completely new perspective, a newer form of New Materialism is achieved, in which the two artists involved, Sebastian Haas (*1992 Bern, Switzerland) and Maya Hottarek (*1990 Chironico, Switzerland), consciously go beyond the internal distinction between subjectivity and cognition, focusing not only on how human action is influenced and enabled by interaction with things, but also on showing how all cosmological elements possess lymphatic, productive and self-regenerative capacities.

Based on these aforementioned premises, in an attempt to unify the two  principles on which the entire project is based - namely introspection and simplicity - there is, on the one hand, the new series of works by Sebastian Haas entitled In my mind, I prefer to be further away, created using the so-called reverse painting technique, in which he paints with oil paints and spray paint on the back of glass panes. In this work, the horizon manifests itself as a clear 

reference to space and at the same time suggests infinite depths that remain out of reach despite our proximity. The entire work consists of several frames that are sequential and interconnected, supported by a continuous horizon whose perspectival distortion creates a seductive expanse that, although it remains elusive, nevertheless endures.

Here, the glass surface, distorted during the working process, gradually takes on more and more unexpected and different dimensions that influence our perception of its level. This leveling is nothing other than the manifestation of the immediate and momentary connection between the conscious and inevitable possibility of dissolution and the undeniable presence of the mirror image. Through the inner splitting of the self and the fears that result from this, the work becomes a spatially tangible catalyst that awakens awareness of one‘s own finiteness and thus of life. Thus, between fragility and power, the incomprehensible and the describable, change and permanence, inwardness and compassion, desire and submission, horizon and barrier, all the elements that compose In my mind, I prefer to be further away constantly strive for a spontaneous interaction with natural light, so that they unfold  unconditionally in a vivid, prismatic, unpredictable and captivating spectacle in which reflection leads the viewer to a dialog with the most intimate “self” and the reflected mirror image under the curious gaze of the other. Focusing on the crucial dimension of the relationship between viewer and artwork, incessantly oscillating between abstraction and figuration, Haas ensures that the message remains hidden in the hope that it will eventually be fully deciphered; on the other hand, between quantum physics, gender identity development, microbiology, technology and the fundamentals of communication, Maya Hottarek searches for ways to shape the complex interactions between the individual, society and the economy.

Her work inhabits a vibrant and interconnected world where new materialisms meet post-materialisms and unite with an interest in panpsychism, foregrounding the ability of conscious thought to fluidly traverse all that was once strictly divided between nature and art, organic and inorganic. With works of ceramics and sound, collages and manual printing processes, she creates fascinating rhizomes, especially in the sculptural part of her 

production, which burn, bubble and pulsate within. Furthermore, strongly inspired by everyday life, she tries to filter its simplicity through various methods, with the aim of opening up new dimensions of understanding reality and constantly questioning the perception of it in its entirety. Here, everything happens in the hope of soon witnessing the spontaneous expansion of other indisputable forms of existence that underpin the 

archetypal principle that the ability to transform reality should no longer be a human privilege, but must also be granted to plant, animal and even inorganic and anthropomorphic organisms. 

Text by Domenico de Chirico