Robert Filliou
how to see
7 MAR until 15 APR 2026
Opening – 7 MAR 2026, 4-8 pm
“What the visitor knows is enough. Accepting ‘knowing what one knows’ but also ‘knowing what knowing is’ such is the spirit of permanent creation.”
(Robert Filliou/Joachim Pfeufer in Le Poipoidrome Ambulant 00, 1975)
Robert Filliou
il y a un noeud au milieu de cette ficelle au centre de cette page où il y eut un dessin, 1972
Cardboard box, foil, string, paper and plastic piece, 44 × 64 × 6 cm,
Photo: Nick Ash
“Robert Filliou is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Perhaps it takes the 21st century to realize this.” These clear words were written by the curator Anders Kreuger about the “playwright, poet, artist and thinker” Robert Filliou. In 2017, Kreuger curates an important retrospective at MIHKA in Antwerp titled The Secret of Permanent Creation, accompanied by an outstanding publication. It is the fourth retrospective devoted to Filliou since 1984 and the first after twelve years. Despite the fact that Filliou’s activities as well as his retrospectives after his death in 1987 date long time back, Kreuger notes that “it never felt as if we were working with historical material. Filliou’s thought and work speak directly to us today.” He emphasizes Filliou’s contemporary importance: “He is a voice for our time, speaking of the political and poetic economy, of curiosity and research as more than ‘a privilege for those who already know.’” Kreuger summarizes what makes Filliou so singular, “he is trying out new names for what he is doing and making.”
Robert Filliou at his apartment in rue des Roziers, 1964.
Photo: Vera Spoerri
how to see is a new exhibition series at Galerie Barbara Wien. It opens on March 7, 2026, with works by Robert Filliou. We will present a selection of original works, prints, multiples, books, texts, and ephemera. In addition, we will screen his film Porta Filliou, produced in 1977 during an Arton’s residency in Calgary by Filliou together with Marcella Bienvenue and Clive Robertson. Porta Filliou functions as a video supplement to Filliou’s book Teaching and Learning as Performing Arts (1970). Visitors will also be able to listen to the work Whispered History of Art (1963). We aim to offer with this show an informative yet entertaining introduction to the art and innovative thinking of Filliou. With the exhibition series how to see we will provide contextual and documentary introductions to artists and their concepts. We will show material from the gallery, from the bookshop, and from the graphics cabinet.