Tino Sehgal redefines museum hierarchies through immaterial performance art

Artist Tino Sehgal is challenging traditional museum hierarchies through his concept of ‘constructed situations’—immaterial performances that eschew physical objects and documentation in favor of live interaction.

At the Venice Biennale, Sehgal’s contribution, ‘This Is So Contemporary’, shifts the roles of visitors and staff, moving away from traditional wall texts and object-based logic. His work, presented within the context of the German Pavilion, focuses on encounters that exist only in the moment of performance rather than as static products to be collected.

Sehgal’s practice has also been showcased at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, where eight live works interacted with the museum’s existing sculpture collection. This exhibition integrated his performances with works by artists such as Auguste Rodin and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, creating a fluid experience that blurs the line between a traditional gallery space and a performance environment. His previous works, including ‘This variation’ and ‘Kiss’, have also been explored at major institutions like the Tate and the Guggenheim.