Anatomical Theater

With “Anatomical Theatre,” the Riphahnsaal at the Kölnischer Kunstverein transforms into an experiential space that blends exhibition, stage, and thought experiment. The exhibition by Andreas Selg, featuring Fabienne Boldt and Emanuel Rossetti, will be on view from September 4 through December 13, 2026.

The title refers to the historical anatomical theater: a place where the human body was dissected and the hidden was made visible. Selg applies this principle to the theater itself. Instead of a traditional plot or performance, the focus here is on the components of the stage action: space, props, masks, set design, text, and atmosphere.

Visitors experience a “theater without theater”—or more precisely: a theater without acting. The exhibition explores the apparatus of theater: in front of, on, and behind the stage. An open, scenic structure emerges in which the audience itself becomes part of the process of meaning-making.

Inspired by post-dramatic forms of theater and references to Heiner Müller, “Anatomical Theatre” asks where the stage ends and the narrative begins.