Formafantasma redefines exhibition design through relational tension
The studio challenges neutral spaces by making architecture an active participant in art displays
1Relational approach to exhibitions
Formafantasma treats exhibition design as a dynamic relationship between artworks, architecture, institutions and visitors. Their process involves simultaneous research and design, examining materials, historical contexts and display conventions while testing physical elements like walls and sightlines. They specifically seek 'the tension' where these elements don't perfectly align, creating conceptual questions that drive projects. This method rejects fixed formulas, instead developing site-specific solutions that emerge from close observation of existing conditions.
2Deconstructing the white cube
The studio challenges the myth of neutral exhibition spaces, arguing that even white plaster walls represent deliberate design choices. Their projects at Rijksmuseum and Moderna Museet demonstrate adaptive approaches - using white cube aesthetics for Caravaggio/Bernini while highlighting industrial character for Mike Kelley. In both cases, the architecture remains visibly present rather than disappearing, forcing viewers to consider display as an active participant in meaning-making rather than passive background.
3Conceptual technical integration
Formafantasma blurs boundaries between conceptual and practical considerations. For the 2026 Diriyah Biennale, they materialized curatorial themes of movement through porous textile partitions and wooden structures that created permeable boundaries. Technical decisions about daylight tolerance, acoustic separation and material choices all carried conceptual weight. This integrated approach means exhibition architecture actively negotiates meaning rather than simply containing artworks.
4Controlled ambiguity
The studio balances structure with openness, creating spatial conditions that suggest rather than prescribe visitor experiences. For Moderna Museet's House of Nisaba, they used cardboard partitions to create multiple routes and fragmented views, offering orientation without imposing narrative. The choice of cardboard - monumental yet fragile - embodied this tension between permanence and provisionality. This approach varies by context, from more directed experiences at crowded biennales to wandering-friendly smaller exhibitions.
5Exhibition as temporary ecology
Formafantasma views exhibitions as interconnected systems where artworks, architecture, texts, light and visitors form a 'temporary ecology'. Their Oltre Terra project demonstrated this by integrating research about wool production with exhibition design, making display part of the investigation. This ecological perspective reveals how changing any element affects all relationships within the system, challenging traditional hierarchies between content and container in museum displays.
6Making conventions visible
The studio's work exposes normally invisible exhibition conventions through subtle disruptions. By making familiar elements like white walls or visitor circulation patterns slightly unfamiliar, they reveal the powerful systems shaping art experiences. Their designs demonstrate how display conditions actively produce meaning rather than neutrally presenting it. This critical approach connects to their broader practice investigating material cultures and production systems.
7Site-specific materiality
Material choices carry conceptual weight in Formafantasma's projects. For Diriyah Biennale, industrial-scale spaces demanded textile partitions that maintained visual connections. At Moderna Museet, cardboard's contradictory qualities - monumental yet temporary - reinforced exhibition themes. Each project develops unique material strategies that respond to both physical contexts and conceptual frameworks, avoiding generic solutions.
8Research as design method
The studio's research-driven approach treats exhibition design as investigative practice. Their process examines artworks' material histories, institutional display conventions and architectural contexts simultaneously. This depth of inquiry allows pragmatic decisions about walls or sightlines to reveal larger conceptual questions. Projects like Oltre Terra demonstrate how research can become spatial argument rather than just informing design.
9Redefining exhibition design
Formafantasma's work expands exhibition design's role from spatial problem-solving to critical practice. By making display systems visible and active, they demonstrate how architecture participates in meaning production. Their relational approach challenges traditional hierarchies in art presentation, offering models where content and container, research and design, structure and interpretation exist in continuous negotiation.