Anatomy of Fragility – Body Images in Art and Science
02.10.2025 — 01.03.2026
Agnes Questionmark
Chiara Enzo
Yein Lee
The Alternative Limb Project
Marshmallow Laser Feast
Anatomical Wax Collection “Luigi Cattaneo” and Museum of Palazzo Poggi, University of Bologna
Collection of Classical Antiquities and Sculpture Hall, Goethe University Frankfurt
Collection of Antiquities of Justus Liebig University Giessen
Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology; University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt
Collection of Hans and Benedikt Hipp
Curated by Franziska Nori, Anita Lavorano, Pia Seifüßl and Angel Moya Garcia
The way people view, perceive and represent the body is constantly changing. Art and science have always used images of the body to tell stories about humanity. Over the course of history, new images and interpretations of the body have continually emerged. The exhibition weaves together objects from different fields and periods: from idealised depictions of the body in archaic Greek art, to religious votive offerings as prayers for healing, to spectacular anatomical wax figures from the 18th century, to the latest images of medical research, in which we immerse ourselves inside of a beating heart. The exhibition juxtaposes these with works by contemporary artists who express a new sense of physicality, its reinterpretation and the call for a new idea of humanity.
The exhibition, curated by the Frankfurter Kunstverein, is organised in collaboration with the Goethe University Frankfurt, represented by the moulage collection of the Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology at the University Hospital, as well as the Collection of Classical Antiquities and Sculpture Hall; the University of Bologna, with anatomical wax models from the “Luigi Cattaneo” Collection and the Palazzo Poggi Museum; Justus Liebig University Giessen, with anatomical votives from the Ludwig Stieda Collection, held by the Collection of Antiquities at the Chair of Classical Archaeology; and the private collection of Hans and Benedikt Hipp, also contributing anatomical votives. Anatomy of Fragility invites you on an unexpected journey through exhibits from human history and contemporary works of art.
