Thomas Hirschhorn at Museo Helga de Alvear

Museo Helga de Alvear (Cáceres) is pleased to present “My Atlas # Our Atlas”, the first major anthological exhibition in twenty years by Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn. Recognised as one of the most unique and formally committed artists of our time, Hirschhorn uses everyday materials, found images and texts in his work to encourage critical thinking and confront the reality of our world. With each exhibition and each work in public spaces, the artist affirms his commitment to a non-exclusive audience, something very present in this major exhibition at Museo Helga de Alvear.

This ambitious exhibition, curated by the museum's director, Sandra Guimarães, outlines the trajectory of the artist from some of his iconic early works, created in the 1980s and never before exhibited, to his most recent productions, created specifically for the museum this year. One of these, My Atlas (2025), is Hirschhorn's personal interpretation of the concept of the “atlas”, inspired by Aby Warburg's Atlas Mnemosyne. This work, composed of 45 panels, which also display original works and are accompanied by appendices including works from the Helga de Alvear Collection, reveals the logic underlying his artistic practice.

Another work produced for the occasion, Gravity, Mass and Democracy (2025), has been created specifically for one of the museum's entrance halls and gives shape to ideas that link science and philosophy with political notions of democracy. Alongside it, Fake it, Fake it – till you Fake it. (2024) is being shown for the first time in Europe and for the second time anywhere in the world. This monumental work is on display at the main entrance to the Museum and explores the materiality and virtuality of artistic creation in times of war.

In addition, one of the works from Helga de Alvear Collection that gallery owner, collector and philanthropist Helga de Alvear was most excited to see installed in her museum, Power Tools (2007) is reactivated and expanded in a new location, incorporating the new Power Tools-Workshop (2025), a creative space open to all in which the artist invites the public to ‘use the tools they need to express their own power’.

In the words of director and curator Sandra Guimarães: "Thomas Hirschhorn is an artist with whom I have been working for 20 years on different exhibitions and in different places around the world. It has been a privilege to work with Thomas again on this major anthological exhibition. My Atlas # Our Atlas, which also includes new works produced for this occasion, represents a unique opportunity to gain deeper insight into the complexity of Hirschhorn’s oeuvre and his unwavering commitment to formal experimentation and critical thinking. Thomas is known for his ambitious projects in public spaces and for works that specifically involve the institutions where he exhibits. The responsibility demonstrated in staging this important exhibition confirms Museo Helga de Alvear´s ability to showcase the work and research of significant artists”

The director points out that the exhibition "also affirms the philosophy and direction of the programme, as well as its commitment to researching the Helga de Alvear Collection, supporting and presenting the work of artists who have a personal language capable of transporting us to places we did not know before and broadening our view of the world. My Atlas # Our Atlas also pays tribute to Helga de Alvear, who was delighted to learn that Thomas Hirschhorn would be having this temporary exhibition at her museum. Helga's legacy inspires us and invites us to celebrate many possible futures”

For the artist, Thomas Hirschhorn, "Exhibiting my work in Cáceres, in this beautiful city, is a challenge for several reasons: first, of course, because of Sandra, the director of the museum and curator of this exhibition. I have known her for a long time and we have worked together on several occasions, and I am very happy that she is now the director of themuseum and that she has invited me to do this anthological exhibition. The people involved are very important to me and my work, and Sandra has been very involved with me. The second reason, of course, is Helga de Alvear. She has acquired some of my works, some of them large-format collages... She has been committed to my work for years."

The exhibition is accompanied by a free publication, a guide to the work My Atlas. The museum is also launching the program “Helga Cinema at the Museum: Carte Blanche to Thomas Hirschhorn”, with a series of films chosen by the artist that will be screened at the Museum from January 2026 onwards. Helga de Alvear Museum is also working with the artist on a limited edition that will be available soon.

The exhibition My Atlas # Our Atlas, curated by Sandra Guimarães, is organised by the Helga de Alvear Museum with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Spain, Pro Helvetia Swiss Art Council and Gladstone Gallery New York, and can be visited in Cáceres until May 10, 2026.

Helga de Alvear Museum in Cáceres, Spain, was created to house one of the most significant private collection of international contemporary art in Europe, developed over 40 years by the leading gallerist and collector, Helga de Alvear. Besides the collection, the museum is developing an ambitious temporary exhibition program as well as community engagement projects. Helga de Alvear Museum is free of charge, accessible and open, and a place for experimentation, research and dissemination, where art is a tool for critical thinking.

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The new work My Atlas (2025) is a personal interpretation of the concept of an Atlas, inspired by Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas, and it serves as the thread connecting not only the artist’s works but also, with particular relevance today, the way in which the individual is interwoven with the collective. With this work, Hirschhorn reveals the logic underlying his artistic practice. As he states, it will be “a horizontal statement” across forty- five large cardboard panels covered in black plastic, onto which images of his works are juxtaposed, actually numbered 43 with two double panels. Sometimes these are accompanied by display cases containing original works, as well as others arranged on the floor, forming a purely visual “map”.

What characterizes My Atlas, in Hirschhorn’s words, “is that it remains non-chronological, infinite, in constant development, evolving, and open to completion, by me and I hope by those looking at it. The aim of My Atlas is an assertion of what is to be seen and what is given to be seen”.

In the Casa Grande’s entrance atrium, the site-specific work Gravity, Mass and Democracy (2025) gives shape to the ontological complexity of the concept of “Mass” and its simultaneous relationships with physics and the concept of “Gravity”, with politics and the concept of “Democracy”. Created specifically for this exhibition, the work consists of a net stretched horizontally between the ground floor and the first floor, holding cardboard objects of various sizes, numbered with percentages and taped, or letting them fall through to the floor below. Visitors can walk through the work, passing underneath it and viewing it from the first floor.

In the main Museum entrance, Fake it, Fake it - till you Fake it. (2024) acquires new relevance in light of the current political redefinition. This work raises questions about artistic practice in times of war. It explores the thin line between the “virtual” and the “real” worlds, offering a visual response to a pivotal question today: “how to continue to work in today’s digital world?” and confront this with an analog exhibition space. Conceived as a “precarious sculpture” in cardboard, featuring “fake” computers, “fake” credit cards, and more, this work underscores the importance of material choice in its plastic dimension. Thiswork questions the influence of social media, the metaverse, the AI, and the ideology of “fake it till you make it”

As part of the exhibition, the artist reconfigures Power Tools (2007), belonging to the Helga de Alvear Collection, within a larger gallery space that incorporates Power Tools-Workshop (2025) conceived by Thomas Hirschhorn as a workshop that seeks the implication of the audience, inviting visitors to work with books, materials and tools in order to create and construct new productions. This work not only affirms itself as a form but also expands, fosters active participation and offers us the means to forge our own world.

My Atlas # Our Atlas thus provides a unique opportunity to gain deeper insight into the complexity of Hirschhorn’s oeuvre and his unwavering commitment to formal experimentation and critical thinking.

– Sandra Guimarães, Director of Museo Helga de Alvear