In this conversation, Berlin-based artist and researcher Dr. Marlene Bart sits down with Peter Gaugy to discuss her recent solo exhibition, Boundary Objects, at Galerie Peter Gaugy in Brussels (22 Nov – 18 Jan 2025). The discussion explores the dissolution of taxonomies, the fluid nature of classification systems, and the critical role of boundary objects in bridging knowledge structures. Bart's practice engages deeply with epistemology, materiality, and the archive, questioning how we construct order, impose categories, and navigate systems of knowledge. Building on her previous project, Ordnungswut (which investigated the human obsession with classification), Boundary Objects pushes further into the instability of order itself—revealing it as a state of constant negotiation rather than a rigid framework. What are Boundary Objects? This exhibition takes its title from a concept developed by sociologist Susan Leigh Star: boundary objects are artifacts that exist at the intersection of multiple disciplines, allowing different knowledge systems to communicate. They serve as translators between epistemic domains, much like fossils in paleontology or archival documents in art history. In Bart’s work, bones, glass, and 3D-printed elements function as both literal and metaphorical boundary objects—objects that anchor meaning yet remain mutable, shifting in response to new contexts. Her sculptural forms act as unstable taxonomies, embodying both the persistence and fragility of classification systems. Key Themes in This Talk: Taxonomy & the Dissolution of Order – How scientific and artistic classification systems are constantly in flux. Materiality & Metaphor – The significance of bone, glass, and 3D-printed forms as symbols of both stability and transformation. Art as a Research Practice – How Bart’s approach parallels scientific and philosophical inquiry, challenging traditional distinctions between artistic creation and academic research. The Epistemology of Objects – How certain artifacts define our historical and cultural narratives, and how artists can intervene in these structures. Why Watch? This wide-ranging and intellectually engaging conversation is essential viewing for: Collectors seeking insight into the conceptual and material underpinnings of Bart’s sculptural practice. Curators & Academics exploring the intersection of art, epistemology, and critical theory. Artists & Thinkers interested in how contemporary art engages with systems of knowledge and classification. Bart’s work does not simply engage with natural history, archives, and taxonomies—it actively interrogates their authority, questioning the structures that frame our understanding of objects, knowledge, and the passage of time. Marlene Bart’s Approach to Art & Research Dr. Marlene Bart is known for her rigorous interdisciplinary approach, bridging: Contemporary Art – Creating sculptural, installation-based, and graphic works . Science & Natural History – Investigating museum collections, taxonomies, and the epistemology of object. Critical Theory & Philosophy – Engaging with thinkers such as Foucault, Haraway, and Star to explore the politics of classification. Her research-driven art practice brings scientific and artistic methodologies into dialogue, positioning art as an alternative mode of knowledge production—one that reveals the inherent instability of the structures we rely on to define the world. Exhibition Context: Boundary Objects In this Brussels exhibition, Bart presents a new sculptural piece that interweaves organic and artificial materials—a delicate yet forceful commentary on the ways knowledge is constructed, recorded, and challenged. Bones, a recurring motif in her work, serve multiple roles: As physical structures, they reference museum collections, anatomical studies, and paleontology. As conceptual markers, they question what we choose to preserve, classify, and assign significance to. As artistic material, they form the foundation of unstable, shifting installations, mirroring the ever-evolving nature of historical and scientific knowledge. Her sculptural assemblages operate as living archives—reconfigurable, adaptive, and resistant to static interpretation. For more on Marlene Bart’s work, visit: www.marlenebart.com For upcoming exhibitions, artist talks, and more, visit Galerie Peter Gaugy: www.petergaugy.com Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content and updates: @petergaugy @marlene.bart Subscribe to our channel for more artist talks, exhibition walkthroughs, and critical discussions on contemporary art.

This discussion was held in conjunction with Marlene Bart’s solo exhibition entitled “Ordnungswut”, a multimedia installation that explores the complex relationship between art and science and questions long-established hierarchical systems of order and structures of knowledge in the context of the increasingly crumbling paradigms of the Anthropocene. Marlene Bart is based in Berlin, and her practice is situated at the intersection of natural history and visual art. This exhibition combines installation, glass and 3D printed sculpture, printmaking, and virtual reality work. She holds a Ph.D. from Bauhaus University Weimar. Lisa Moravec is a Vienna-based writer, curator, and art historian. She teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Her research focuses on performative elements within the visual arts, specifically on human, digital, and animal connections. Upcoming work includes a monograph: *Dressaged Animality: Human and Animal Actors in Contemporary Performance* (Routledge, 2024), and an exhibition on artist Rose English for the Museum der Moderne in Salzburg. She holds a Ph.D. from Royal Holloway, University London. Exhibition text by Marlies Wirth, curator at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna

ARTIST TALK Marlene Bart in conversation with Dr. Tina Sauerlaender (peer to space) September 17, 2023 IN GERMAN On the occasion of "UNLEASHED UTOPIAS. Artistic Speculations about Today and Tomorrow in the Metaverse", exhibition of the VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin, September 9 - November 5, 2023, Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin, Germany. About Marlene Bart: Marlene Bart works at the intersection of natural history, anatomy, and the visual arts. She combines scientific and artistic images to create a new visual language. To what extent does this common visual language make it possible to rethink systems of order in the natural sciences? Here, Bart’s research is also artistic—how can the human relationship to these categories be influenced and even altered by virtual reality, or VR. Using a variety of techniques (prints, artists’ books, sculptures, installations, VR), she shifts historical books and other evidence into a contemporary context. Marlene Bart studied the visual arts under Professor Wolfgang Ellenrieder at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Braunschweig (HBK), at Villa Arson (École nationale supérieure d‘art) in Nice and at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She has a master’s degree in “Art in Context” from the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK) and completed her doctorate at the Bauhaus University in Weimar (BUW) on the subject of „The artist‘s book as a multimedia encyclopaedia“. Marlene Bart lives in Berlin. About Theatrum Radix (2022): Theatrum Radix combines systems of categorization used in natural history with contemporary technologies such as CT scans and 3D modeling. In the virtual space, natural objects are turned into new, surreal, moving pictures and supplemented by artworks. Viewers literally immerse themselves inside of bones, or a glass brain, or in the interior life of a dissected frog. Boundaries between the types of animals and plants are dissolved, creating a speculative outline dealing with habitats and systems of order. This allows viewers to change perspective. They find themselves at a remove from the human, anthropocentric perspective, and the systems it uses to categorize nature. The title can be traced back to a seventeenth-century Italian philosopher, Guilio Camillo, and his Theater of Memory. Camillo planned a theater in which he could unite knowledge of the world and of the universe, like an encyclopedia. Theatrum Radix picks up on this idea and creates a hybrid universe oscillating between the physical world and virtual space. It opens up a playful, interconnected view of objects, instead of reproducing order as a hierarchical concept. Film © 2023 peer to space & VR ART PRIZE by DKB in Cooperation with CAA Berlin Photos: J. Pegman Artworks and Installation © Anan Fries www.vrkunst.dkb.de

Artist Talk con l'artista Marlene Bart Nuovo appuntamento a Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza con il ciclo “Ponti – tra le rive”, promosso dal Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani. Mercoledì 9 settembre alle ore 18 si terrà l’incontro con l'artista Marlene Bart, artist in residence a Venezia fino alla fine di settembre. Marlene Bart parlerà della sua tesi di dottorato artistica-scientifica sul tema "Il libro d'artista come enciclopedia multimediale" e presenterà alcune sculture in vetroresina dedicate alle forme degli animali marini veneziani come le canoce, i folpi e i calamari. Introdurrà la serata la vicepresidente Helen Geyer, modererà Petra Schaefer, responsabile per le relazioni artistiche. L'evento si svolgerà nel rispetto delle normative previste per l'emergenza Covid-19 e potrebbe essere spostato a causa della situazione sanitaria. L'ingresso è libero, i posti sono limitati. Per gli ultimi posti si prega di scrivere a rsvp@dszv.it Marlene Bart sul suo progetto “Il libro d'artista come enciclopedia multimediale” Il progetto di dottorato è costituito dal lavoro al "libro d'artista come enciclopedia multimediale". Esso unisce una parte scientifica e una parte pratica artistica. Partendo da una prospettiva di enciclopedista nella ricerca artistica si attua un confronto e un'analisi di varie enciclopedie della prima età moderna e di libri d'artista della modernità in poi con una particolare attenzione ai sistemi visivi della loro struttura. Dopo questa analisi segue la trasposizione pratica del "libro d'artista come enciclopedia multimediale": Producendo vari contributi enciclopedici e accogliendo dei contributi di scienziate e scienziati e artiste e artisti, alla fine il risultato viene presentato nella forma di un'istallazione che si rapporta strettamente con il "libro". Il progetto di ricerca si pone nell'interfaccia tra obiettività e immaginazione, tra scienza e arte. La trasposizione ideale di un medium della prima età moderna nell'arte contemporanea rende possibile uno sguardo transdisciplinare sul campo dell'enciclopedistica. Breve biografia Marlene Bart Marlene Bart (*1991) vive e lavora ad Hannover e Berlino. Ha studiato arti visive all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Braunschweig, alla Villa Arson (École nationale supérieure d’art) di Nizza e presso l’Art Center College of Design di Pasadena. Bart ha conseguito il master in "Art in Context" all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Berlino e attualmente sta svolgendo la tesi di dottorato sul tema "Il libro d’artista come enciclopedia multimediale" all’Università Bauhaus a Weimar. Ha insegnato dal 2017-2020 all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Braunschweig e dal 2020 insegna all’Università Bauhaus di Weimar.

Marlene Bart TAXA & THEATER OF MEMORY Credits: Allgemeiner Konsumverein Braunschweig, Thomas Bartels, 2021

Jan Panniger ist Ausstellungspräparator am #mfnberlin und euch vielleicht schon aus der Beats & Bones-Folge "Präparieren: Make-up für die Ewigkeit" bekannt. Gemeinsam mit Marlene Bart, bildende Künstlerin und Guide am Museum, tauschte er sich mit euch live auf Instagram über Tierpräparation als Berufsfeld zwischen Kunst und Wissenschaft aus – und zeigte einige aktuelle Arbeiten aus unseren Präparationswerkstätten. Der Livestream fand in Ergänzung zur Podcast-Folge "Wie Ausstellungen entstehen" statt. Beats & Bones entsteht in Kooperation mit unserem Hauptsponsor Berliner Sparkasse. Ab sofort überall, wo es Podcasts gibt: https://linktr.ee/mfnberlin #WissenSchafftDurchblick

Naturdinge, Kunst in Quarantäne @JungeMeister, 2020 A digital insight into the solo exhibition "Naturdinge" by the artist Marlene Bart. The exhibition was a cooperation with the Sprengel Museum Hannover and feinkunst e.V. Hannover.