As part of the Art Basel Paris Public sector, Julius von Bismarck presents three major works at the Petit Palais in Paris: The Elephant in the Room (2023), the series OOOSB (2024-25), complemented by the video work Grenzen der Intelligenzen (Boundaries of Intelligences, 2024). The Elephant in the Room pairs a taxidermy giraffe with a life-size replica of the bronze equestrian statue of Otto von Bismarck in Bremen, Germany.

At first, the sculptures appear as static, —until they begin to collapse inward, only to rise again, rebuilding themselves in a continuous cycle of rise and fall. Towering over the viewer and barely contained within the gallery space, the sculptures evoke early childhood memories of segmented push toys—the direct inspiration for von Bismarck's piece but comically switched in size between human and toy. The collapse speed is unique to each figure, creating an ever-shifting relationship between them.

In his OOOSB series, von Bismarck presses animals, plants, and vestiges of civilization into a mass of wood shavings using heavy industrial compression techniques. The artist presses worlds in which the history of the material merges with that of the pictorial worlds into the panels. Julius von Bismarck is renowned for his critical engagement with the relationship between humans and nature, which in his work is often depicted in complex and ambivalent ways. At the center lies the questioning of human concepts of nature—sometimes understood as a fragile environment in need of protection, at other times as a force of brutal violence. The compressed world of these panel works destabilizes the hierarchy between human and nature, opening a new perspective on the intricate interplay of culture, memory, and environment.

In the video work Grenzen der Intelligenzen (Boundaries of Intelligences), a fluorescent lamp pulsates and rhythmically radiates its light into the darkened exhibition space. [...]. For millions of years, luminous celestial bodies have served as insects' main orientation points. This has been disrupted by human intervention in their environment, as the use of artificial light makes it impossible for these animals to navigate their habitats. Perpetually flying in circles, they are at the mercy of death by exhaustion. Von Bismarck films their death flights, and, by using a slow-motion camera, the artist is also able to make the inherent flickering of fluorescent lamps perceptible to the human eye.

For Art Basel Paris's public program, the artist brings kinetic sculptures and a complicated family legacy to the Petit Palais, questioning what we choose to remember – and why.

By Emily May

Copyrights Installation view of Julius von Bismarck's exhibition When Platitudes Become Form at Berlinische Galerie, Berlin: Copyright the artist; alexander levy, Berlin; Berlinische Galerie. Museum für Moderne Kunst, Berlin; Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf; VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn; Photo Roman März