During the Renovation: A Site-Specific Video Installation by Jochen Wagner

In advance of its reopening in April 2026, the Kebbel Villa presents a site-specific video installation to draw attention to the ongoing renovation process: Jochen Wagner's ‘Cleaner’ (2021/25) is on display in one of the windows facing the street on the first floor.

With his Cleaner, Jochen Wagner responds to the ongoing renovation of the Kebbel Villa aimed at improving accessibility. The site-specific video installation shows the artist from behind as he rolls paint onto one of the first-floor windows of the historic Gründerzeit building, only to subsequently remove the layer of paint from the glass. This action repeats in a seemingly endless cycle, becoming a metaphor for the continuous work intended to make art and culture more accessible at the Fronberg exhibition house and to remove barriers. Through the depicted process of renewal, the work also enters into a dialogue with the architecture and history of the Gründerzeit building.

The projection is switched on only after dark and can be viewed from Tuesday to Thursday, as well as on selected days, between 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM.

Since July 2025, the Kebbel Villa has been closed for extensive renovation. These measures include, among other things, the installation of an elevator connecting all levels of the listed building, as well as a barrier-free main entrance.

Jochen Wagner (born in Böblingen in 1983, currently living and working in Stuttgart) studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart from 2012 to 2017, and completed his studies in 2022 in the Weissenhof programme. In 2017, he won the art-in-architecture competition for the Centre for Advanced Materials at Heidelberg University. His work has been shown at Villa Merkel Esslingen, Gallery Giotta Seoul and the World Conference Centre in Bonn, among others.