Upcoming:  2026

April - September    St. Virgil, Salzburg
June - December     Haus des Papiers Berlin



About




Philipp Hoelzgen is a visual artist based in Vienna whose work explores the shifting relationship between humans and the planet through sculptural installations, sounds, objects, and wearable forms.

I define the technosphere and the biosphere as a dynamic, viscous conglomerate. My vestimentary architectures, which include clothing, masks, prostheses, spiked armor, and insulated jackets, function as interfaces between the wearer and planetary conditions. Technology is not exclusive to humans; it is equally present in the botanical world. I do not treat tools as one-sided instruments of adaptation but as a kind of corset. Following John Culkin’s observation that we shape our tools and then they shape us, I create wearable objects that deliberately limit bodily movement.

My practice extends into immersive environments and sound installations. By shifting the perspective from living on a planet to living within a biosphere, as Timothy Morton theorizes, planetary life becomes sticky and tangible. One wears the planet throughout a lifetime, just as the planet wears the individual. This mutual wearing generates constant friction and abrasion. As everything rubs against everything else, sound emerges from the resistance.

Every interaction produces sound. Even what we consider inanimate, like wind or weather, participates. Footsteps, birdsong, and industrial hums all generate acoustic feedback. This feedback makes movement and friction palpable and provides orientation within a vibrating hyperorganism where the listener hears their own body alongside all other living and non-living entities.

My environments follow the logic of an analogue photographic darkroom. They are illuminated by red light, which restricts visibility, and orientation is guided by sonic and luminous impulses. Color filters and visual contrasts continuously shift perception. Each image is formed in the moment, and each movement triggers new resonances. These works demand constant adaptation, molting, and wearing, creating a state where body and material become partners in a network of vestimentary interaction.


Education



2025   Research Stay Athens, Supervision by Nikos Arvanitis
              Athens School of Fine Arts

2024   International Summeracademy of Fine Arts
              mentored by Pascal Petignat
                                                       
2021+  Studies Fine Arts
               University of Applied Arts Vienna
               Sophie Thun / Gabriele Rothemann

2021   School for artistic Photography,  Vienna
             mentored by Anja Manfredi    

2021    Mass Media & Communication Science BA.21  
              University Vienna

Awards / Residencies



2025   Residency Keramikos23, Athens  (GR)

2025   VOGUE, New Talents Award (GR)

2024   Residency, St. Virgil, Salzburg (A) 

2024   International Summeracademy of Fine Arts
                              
2023   Wolf Suschitzky Photography Prize, shortlisted
Grants



2026   Incentive Grant, University of Applied Arts  

2025   Project Grant, Bildrecht, Vienna

2025   Research Grant, Athens
              University of applied Arts, Vienna

2023   Special Project Grant
               Austrian Student Union

2023   Special Project Grant
               HUFAK,  Student Union

2022   Incentive Grant
              University of Applied Arts  

Publications

Dynamic Futures, Steidl (Katalog, Foto Wien 25)
Saliva.live (Substrates of old  Gardens)
Gallerytalk.net (Interceptible Flutter)
24 ½, Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien
Vogue Greece  
Photography Lies, Steidl (Katalog, Foto Wien 23)
Kuba Paris  (LAUGH, LAUF, LIMES)
Kuba Paris  (Interceptible Flutter)


Exhibitions

2026  Upcoming

St. Virgil, Salzburg
Haus des Papier, Berlin

2025

Duo_Morphologies of Becoming, Kunstverein Kombinage, Foto Wien, (A) with Daniel Hill
Duo_Unstoppable Yesterdays, periscope, Salzburg (A) with Jurij Hartmann
Duo_Substrates of Old Gardens, Kunstraum St. Virgil, Salzburg (A) with Linda Luse curated by Andrea Lehner Hagwood
Solo_Mining Roots of Planets, K23_artstudio, Athens (GR)
Solo_Cosmic Treatment, Landscape Exhibition Tourkovunia, Athens (GR)

Jahresgaben, Augsburger Kunstverein, curated by Christian Thöner (D)
Video of the Month, Das Weisse Haus, Vienna curated by Pia Wamsler (A)
Interceptible Flutter, Augsburger Kunstverein, curated by Jonas Höschl (D)

Spectrum Metallic, OKP 3. Floor, Vienna (A)
Exhibition Part 1, Keramikos 23, Athens (GR)
24 1/2, Atelier Augarten, Vienna (A)
Rethinking Headgear, Handwerksmuseum  Deggendorf (D)

2024


Beyond the Lens , masc foundation - Rotlicht Festival, curated by Daniel Hill, Vienna (A)
Contact and Scale, Fortress Hohensalzburg, curated by Pascal Petignat, Salzburg (A)
Material Dreams, Angewandte Festival, Vienna (A)
hoffentlich wenigstens, Dito, Vienna (A)
A Poem Is Being Written, Universitätsgalerie der Angewandten im Heiligenkreuzerhof, Vienna (A)
Wolf Suschitzky Fotopreis, Fotohof Salzburg (A)
Harmlessly contagious, OK-Transit, curated by Tsai-Ju Wu, Expositur Paulusplatz, Vienna (A)
This side up, Intervention in public space, London (UK)
Stofflichkeit, Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Vienna (A)
Observing Systems, Dito, curated by Günther Selichar, Vienna (A)

2023

Im Augenblick Gefangen / Capturing the Moment, Austrian Cultural Forum, London (UK)
WE CAME TO AN AGREEMENT, Billboard Installation, Group Project, Vienna (A)
chamber of secrets, Kunstraum OK 3rd floor, Vienna (A)
Kopfverlängerung, Angewandte Festival, Vienna (A)
Wired Realities, Trumpeldor Gallery, Beer Sheva, Israel (IL)
TBH - to be honest, Advertising pillar on a public square in Vienna, Foto Wien, Vienna (A)
Look, a thorn blossoms!, Intervention in public space, Vienna (A)
LAUGH, LAUF, LIMES - painting with a backpack on, Kunstraum Schwaz, Schwaz (A)
TIME OUT I, Circuits and Currents, Athens (GR)
Projection d‘illusions, Filmkoop, Vienna (A)

2022

WHEREVER, OFF Festival, Bratislava (SK)
37 THINGS I CARRY, Safehouse 1, London (UK)
Zustandsgesteuert, Angewandte Festival, Vienna (A)
FotoTOPOS, Angewandte Festival, curated by Philipp Goldbach, Vienna (A)
Stones in a Glasshouse, Foto Wien 2022, Vienna (A)
Photobook Market, Foto Wien 2022, Vienna (A)

2021

Fleisch und Stein, Popup Group Exhibition, Vienna (A)
Together /AND apart, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna (A)

Imprint

Imprint

Verantwortlich gemäß § 5 ECG (E-Commerce-Gesetz, Österreich) / Responsible according to § 5 E-Commerce Act (Austria):

Philipp Hoelzgen
Einsiedlerplatz 12/2
1050 Vienna
Austria

Telefon / Phone: +4368181453353
E-Mail / Email: philipp.hoelzgen@icloud.com




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Stand: August 2025


Urheberrecht / Copyright Notice

Deutsch:
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© 2026 Philipp Hoelzgen – Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

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© 2026 Philipp Hoelzgen  – All rights reserved.