In Balance by Hettler.Tüllmann

Explore the delicate interplay between human activity and nature at In Balance by Hettler.Tüllmann, on view from November 21, 2024, to January 19, 2025, at The Wolfsonian–FIU in Miami Beach. This installation, created by Berlin-based designer Katja Hettler and Miami architect Jula Tüllmann, complements the museum’s ongoing exhibition The Big World: Alternative Landscapes in the Modern Era, reflecting on the fragility of natural ecosystems.

Hettler.Tüllmann, a creative partnership between Berlin-based designer Katja Hettler and Miami architect Jula Tüllmann, presents their iconic Swing chair suspended alongside a grouping of bromeliads, forming a mobile inspired by South Florida’s lush plant life and Art Deco motifs from the museum’s collection. The work serves as a metaphor for the precarious equilibrium of the environment, disrupted when humans intervene—a point underscored by the fact that sitting on the chair would destroy the mobile’s balance.

The installation is presented in the Bridge Tender House, an Art Deco-style structure designed by Harrington & Cortelyou and dedicated as the Josephine Baker Pavilion. Originally built in 1939 as part of the Northwest 27th Avenue Bridge over the Miami River, the stainless-steel Bridge Tender House was saved from demolition when the bridge was rebuilt and donated to The Wolfsonian in 1993. Now located in front of the museum along Washington Avenue, it frequently hosts contemporary art installations.