Meet Katja Loher | Architect of Dreams, Environmental Art Activist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katja Loher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katja, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
In my option the work of an artist never starts and end and I learned to enjoy every moment of it as free time: The Art of Life!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
With my exhibitions and Manifestos I created multi-sensorial and collective experiences. I wish to stimulate dreams and innovation and inspire to look for answers from another viewpoint to preserve the beauty and complexity of nature for generations to come.

Have you noticed that the word EARTH hosts ART in the center? We are instruments of awareness and agents of sustainable change.The nearly seamless fusion of the technological with the organic reflects a digital world of magic. Ballerinas take on the form of zoomorphic creatures in a multi-colored game of perspective and scale that ennobles the existence of tiny beings. Performers intertwine to form letters, words and questions, while costumed dancers dressed as bees, plankton, butterflies – and other creatures, mimic the somatic or sonar communication inherent to different species. The adoption of the bird’s eye perspective for each video simulates the effect of looking through a microscope, telescope, or kaleidoscope. The symmetrical multiplication of moving bodies in constantly changing constellations produces a rhythmically pulsating collective. Planet Earth is a complex organism and if we humans interfere with it, the elements get out of balance and the cycle becomes destructive.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live between NY, Menorca and Zurich and I am imaging a visit in each place. In NY I would take them on a journey with the ferry and from there find our way to The High Line in Chelsea, followed by a visit in some of my favorite galleries and museums. On the way we may pay a spontaneous visit at a friend’s place or go to a panel discussion or gathering about some innovative dreams. Then we would return to Brooklyn and go to the little beach in the park on the waterfront in Williamsburg and meditate during sunset, watching the colors of the sky change until it gets dark and the lights of Manhattan turn on. To end the day we would go for dinner for example at the Japanese Restaurant Bosu to eat some party bombs.

In Menorca we would start on a boat trip along the coast and we would go Cala Sa Mesquida, visit friends and create collaborative projects related to the sea and go to the local restaurant a for lunch. After the siesta we would head towards the south side of the island to get inspired by watching the sun disappear on the horizon of the sea. On the way back to the capital Mahon we will stop at the prehistorical site Trepucó to watch this ancient architecture under the moon and stars. In Zurich we would take a stroll around the city, visit some beautiful buildings, squares and art spaces. In between we will meet friends for coffee or tea and in summer we would organize a vegetarian picnic on the lake with champagne and strawberries.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My work progress is based on collaboration, warm shoutout to my collaborators : Andrea Liberni, Architecture (Milan); Juan Pablo Beltran, Audio Design (Cali, Colombia); Saori Tsukada, Choreography (New York); Azumi Oe, Choreography/Dance (New York); Michiko Sakano, Glass (New York); Gian-Maria Annovi, Poetry, Text, (LA); Luca Stella, Sculpture Fabrication, (Milan), Luciano Castellano, 3D Modulation (Milan), Paola Bernardi, Graphic Design (Milan).

I’m grateful for the support of my family and friends and the collaborations with Philip Glass, Satish Gupta, Salustiano, Olga Cotofana, Maria Escardo, Jhony Robayo, Robert Elmes, Evelyne Brack, Janice Zwail, La Lupa, Clarissa Tam, Friederike Schmid, Agathe Desvaux de Marigny and Abhishek Basu, among many others.

To name a few collectors, patrons and galleries: Jorge Perez, Miami; Christoph Hürlimann and Elisabeth Weber, Zug; Rolf auf der Maur, Zürich; Anya Tish Gallery, Houston; Latchkey Gallery, NY; Christoph Merian Stiftung, Basel; Cultural Department Basel; Cultural Department Schaffhausen, House Collective Art Program Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Swiss Embassy New Delhi.

Website: www.katjaloher.com

Instagram: katjaloher

Linkedin: katjaloher

Facebook: katjaloher

Image Credits
1) Jhony Robayo 2) Katja Loher Studio 3) House Collective Art Program 4) Katja Loher Studio 5) Katja Loher Studio 6) Katja Loher Studio