… as the space remembered its softness

                 – being in a body, wrapped in a skin, in my clothes, in a blanket, in some kind of envelope or pocket, an architecture, a vessel, a volume, a sphere, a womb, the organs connected through tissues and skins, membranes, clouds, air, world, universe. being inside of something; tangible spaces (…).
                  (…) what is this space made of? this vessel? this body? its shape? its surface? its boundary? its materiality? its feeling? its atmosphere? where does the body end and the space begin?

In her work, Gabi Schillig experimentally explores space and architecture as extensions of the living body—as responsive, dynamic mediums of communication. Space is not static or immobile, but alive and evolving, deeply interwoven with human presence and bodily experience. Bodies, spaces, and actions are not distinct entities, but mutually dependent and intimately connected. Her work centers on the creation of soft, ephemeral architectures — textile shells, spatial structures, skins, and sometimes almost immaterial membranes — that challenge rigid spatial boundaries. These soft architectures act as spatial mediators, transforming inside and outside into fluid, permeable zones. They invite tactile and embodied dialogues, enabling new ways of being in space – from digital imaginary drawings, photography, spatial installation, performance, videos and woven textiles. Softness is a powerful spatial, material and social concept. It allows for adaptability, malleability, and resonance. It embodies fragility, fluidity, and even instability — but within these qualities lies a deep transformative potential: if something is soft it remains open to change. In times of global crisis, where hardness dominates political, social, and ecological realities, she sees softness as a methodology of transformation—an ethics of care and co-existence. Her work seeks to create soft spatialities: open, protective environments that enable intimacy, tenderness, proximity and distance, and mutual sensitivity between humans, space and other forms of life.

Gabi Schillig is an artist who creates experimental dialogical spatial structures and spaces of communication. She studied architecture in Coburg and Conceptual Design at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main. Her work, which she develops in her artistic practice within the framework of her Studio for Dialogical Spaces, is shown in international contexts and exhibitions. She has received numerous scholarships and awards, including from the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Van Alen Institute New York, Largo das Artes Rio de Janeiro, and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. Gabi Schillig lives in Berlin and teaches as a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since 2023, she has been working regularly in Japan, where she continues her artistic research on topologies of softness.

Yui Kawaguchi is a Japanese dancer and choreographer living in Berlin. On the opening night, she will engage in a performative dialogue with the works, the gallery space and the visitors.

Kay von Keitz combines the fields of art, architecture, urbanism and aesthetic practice in his work and lives as a freelance author, editor and curator in Cologne.

The aquabitArt gallery showcases various artistic positions that explore the experimental field between architecture, art, installations and new media. Founder and architect Irina Ilieva opened the gallery space in early 2009 at Auguststraße 35 in Berlin-Mitte. The aquabitArt gallery regularly hosts exhibitions, art installations, art talks, performances, discussions and lectures.