14/06/2026, 3:00 pm,

Coversation in the exhibition Zauri Matikashvili. You may not want to be here with Zauri Matikashvili and Merle Radtke

, Kunsthalle Münster

The conversation between artist Zauri Matikashvili and Merle Radtke, director of the Kunsthalle Münster, offers a deeper insight into the artist’s work and the development of the exhibition.

With You may not want to be here, the Kunsthalle Münster is presenting Zauri Matikashvili’s first institutional solo exhibition, thus offering insight into the work of the Georgian artist. Alongside his latest two-channel installation Passing the Glass (2026), which is premiering as part of the show, two of Matikashvili’s earlier films, In Katernberg (2022) and Made in Europe (2023), are also on view. The cinematic works are complemented by a sculptural series entitled You may not want to be here (since 2024), with works distributed over the entire exhibition space, entering in dialogue with his films.

Zauri Matikashvili’s films are dedicated to individuals, groups of people or places. Quite often, his focus is on people who otherwise receive little attention. He examines themes such as identity, traditional gender roles, segregation, belonging, inner conflict, racism and increasing repression from a variety of perspectives. Against a backdrop of democratic regression, the rise of authoritarian populism, a general shift to the political right and growing social inequalities, Matikashvili’s work takes on a notable sense of urgency.

The conversation will be held in german.

Zauri Matikashvili was born in the Georgian town of Qvareli. After studying Fine Arts in Münster and Düsseldorf, he now lives and works in Münster and Amsterdam. In his films, performances, installations, and sculptures, he questions the socio-cultural and political contexts of different societies and nations that shape the construction of identity in individual realities and families. He is particularly interested in how narratives and images create community. Matikashvili's works have been shown in numerous institutions, for example at BSMNT in Leipzig (2026), at Julia Stoschek Foundation in Düsseldorf (2025), at Kunst in Tunnel (KIT) in Düsseldorf (2025), at the LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur in Münster (2025), at Het Documentaire Paviljoen in Amsterdam (2024), at Stadthausgalerie Münster (2023), at Antimatter Media Art in Victoria (2023), at By Art Matters in Hangzhou (2023), at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam (2023), at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (2022), at International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen (2022), at Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof in Hamburg (2021), at Filmfestival Münster (2021), at HMKV in Dortmund (2021), at Atelier No. 63 PACT Zollverein in Essen (2020) and at Philara Collection in cooperation with Filmwerkstatt in Düsseldorf (2020). He was artist in residence at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten Amsterdam (2022–2024), at Cité Internationale des Arts Paris (2022) and at PACT Zollverein in Essen (2021). He recently received scholarships from Stiftung Kunstfonds (2025) and Kunststiftung NRW (2026).

Merle Radtke works as curator and writer. In her curatorial work she focuses on feminism, the construction and deconstruction of history, art in the public space war, (post-)digital art practice, sound art and Latin American art. Since July 2018, she is working as director of Kunsthalle Münster, devising and realizing the exhibition, furthermore she is for the city’s collection of art in the public space and the residency program Residence NRW+. Previously, she has worked as a curator for Hamburger Kunsthalle and Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, amongst others. From 2015 to 2017, she was research fellow of the Aesthetics of the Virtual graduate program at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg. In 2018, she was a fellow at Villa Kamogawa/Goethe Institut Kyoto, Japan. And in 2024, she curated the Art Weekend Belgrade. On a regular basis, she publishes texts on contemporary art and culture.