Rirkrit Tiravanija "The House That Jack Built"

From March 26 to July 26, 2026, Pirelli HangarBicocca will present “The House That Jack Built,” the first retrospective dedicated to Rirkrit Tiravanija’s architectural and spatial research. Tiravanija is a leading figure in relational art and one of the most significant contemporary artists on the international art scene. His work exists between art and life, and calls for participation. In the Navate space of Pirelli HangarBicocca, visitors will navigate a gigantic maze, where every encounter becomes an opportunity to share experiences of leisure, rest, care, conviviality, and participation.

Rirkrit Tiravanija (Buenos Aires, 1961; currently living and working in New York, Berlin, and Chiang Mai, Thailand) has profoundly reshaped our understanding of artistic practice by constantly questioning the very definition of a work of art. Since the 1990s, Tiravanija has centered his practice on social engagement, often encouraging visitors to interact with and actively participate in his works. The artist’s installations, performances, photographs, films, sculptures, and drawings push beyond conventional boundaries, redefining traditional categories and promoting an environment in which involvement and collaboration are integral to the work. Tiravanija's projects stem from an in-depth exploration of cultural identity and the global structures underlying it, questioning the reality and imagination of places.

The son of a Thai diplomat, Tiravanija led a nomadic life from childhood, moving between Buenos Aires, Bangkok, and Addis Abeba before receiving an arts education in the United States and Canada. Tiravanija’s artistic practice stems from this experience of constant change, focusing on the theme of globalization as the circulation of people, images, and capital between different geographical regions, as well as the redefinition of the dichotomy between "local" and "global". Tiravanija explores this tension by examining and breaking down concepts such as travel and shelter, viewing them as political and aesthetic tools that can create opportunities for hospitality and connection. As the artist states, "I have always been traveling, it is about change, and about shift, it’s about moving in order to remember that one is living". Within this framework, Tiravanija often uses film, text, or music to emphasize the role of popular culture in constructing collective memory and to connect contemporary art to a broader, permeable discourse closely tied to life experiences.

By recreating everyday activities such as eating, sleeping, and playing, the artist reimagines the exhibition space and rejects its idealization. In doing so, he transforms it into a tangible reality in which ethical and cultural differences are questioned, analyzed, and problematized. The work thus becomes an open process and a tool for dialogue and transformation, encouraging encounters and the development of a living community. Two main objectives lie at the heart of Tiravanija's practice: on the one hand, he critiques the mechanisms of Western institutions that produce and legitimize knowledge through exhibition practices; on the other hand, he searches for artistic forms that can reactivate the context and use of objects, restoring their life force, which often gets stifled by institutions. A key element is the introduction of a communal dimension, where cooking and sharing food in public becomes an artistic act. In his renowned work untitled 1990 (pad thai), (1990), Tiravanija cooks and serves the well-known Thai national dish, intending to "take the pot out of the vitrine and cook in it", as he puts it. In doing so, the artist returns food to its original function within an institutional context, overturning the concept of the readymade and challenging the conventions of museum display.

The retrospective "The House That Jack Built,” presented at Pirelli HangarBicocca and curated by Lucia Aspesi and Vicente Todolí, will introduce the public to the artist's thirty years of research into spatial and architectural practices. The title refers to the famous 18th-century English nursery rhyme of the same name, which has a repetitive and cumulative structure. Contrary to what the title suggests, the rhyme does not recount the story of the house or its builder. Rather, it reveals how the house is indirectly connected to, and interacts with, the people and things around it. By evoking the rhyme, Tiravanija highlights a solid relationship with issues of authorship, a prevalent theme in his work. The artist conceives buildings as platforms, whose value is determined by their use and the people who inhabit them rather than by their form.

The exhibition will showcase the largest collection of the artist's architectural works to date, many of which are inspired by iconic buildings of celebrated architects associated with Modernism, including Sigurd Lewerentz, Le Corbusier, Rudolf Michael Schindler, Frederick Kiesler, Jean Prouvé, and Philip Johnson. With these structures, Tiravanija explores themes related to authorship and reinterprets modernist icons by altering their original function through collective activation and placing them in radically different contexts. This opens up new possibilities for use, relationship, and meaning. Like cinematic sequences unfolding throughout the exhibition, the show will present a succession of scenarios in which visitors become protagonists. In many installations, the words "a lot of people" appear among the listed materials. Relying on "a lot of people" to bring the work to life means embracing interruptions and unforeseen events: what happens may not match what existed up to that point. Thus, the exhibition is not intended to be a mausoleum of emblematic works from the past. Rather, it is an active, participatory format in which forms are reactivated by different presences and circumstances each time.

The artist

Rirkrit Tiravanija's solo exhibitions have been hosted by many of the world's leading art institutions, including Gropius Bau, Berlin (2024); MoMA PS1, New York (2023); Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium (2021); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. (2019); National Gallery of Singapore (2018); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2016); Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (2014); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2012); Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germany (2010); Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany (2009); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2005); Portikus, Frankfurt am Main (2004, 2001); Secession, Vienna (2002); Kunsthall Oslo (2001); Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio (1999); Philadelphia Museum of Art (1998); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1997); Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne (1996).

Tiravanija has also participated in numerous group exhibitions and biennials around the world, including Shanghai Biennale (2025); Helsinki Biennial (2021); Sharjah Biennial (2007, 2015); Venice Biennale (2015, 2011, 2009, 2003, 1993); Gwangju Biennale (2012; 1995); Lyon Biennale (2007, 1995); São Paulo Biennial (2006); Whitney Biennial (2006, 1995); Dakar Biennale (2004); Liverpool Biennial (2004, 2002); Istanbul Biennial (2001); Caribbean Biennial (1999); Berlin Biennale, Biennale of Sydney (1998); Johannesburg Biennale (1995).

The artist has received many scholarships and awards, including the Absolut Art Award (2010), the Silpathorn Award from the Thai Ministry of Culture (2017), the Hugo Boss Prize (2004), and the Lucelia Artist Award from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2003).