At the center of the exhibition stands the ancient Delphic injunction Medèn ágan – “Nothing in excess.” Once carved in stone at the entrance to the Temple of Apollo, it endures as a reminder that every measure, every order, and every form of being relies on a fragile balance. When that balance is exceeded, the structure begins to tremble – within the human being, within nature, within the cosmos itself. From this idea, the exhibition unfolds two artistic perspectives on the fragility of the world – and on how it is precisely this fragility that lends it its beauty and preciousness.
Paris Giachustidus’ paintings mirror this idea on the level of knowledge. Inspired by astronomy and the unresolved mysteries of the cosmos, they reveal a tension between the drive for understanding and the awareness of uncertainty. The more we know, the greater our questions become – and the more uncertain our knowledge appears. This tension between insight and unknowing becomes visible in Giachustidus’ work as a poetic reflection on the unknown and on the limits of human comprehension.
Toshihiko Mitsuya’s sculptures, in contrast, address the physical fragility of our world. From unstable, malleable materials emerge structures that appear to defy the laws of physics while simultaneously revealing their own transience. Within them, the fragility of our planet, the vulnerability of human civilization, and the ceaseless threat of natural forces are mirrored.
The exhibition weaves these perspectives together: it reveals that uncertainty and instability are not only sources of danger, but also of aesthetic and philosophical potential. In the interplay between Giachustidus’ cosmic uncertainty and Mitsuya’s material fragility, a meditation arises on the beauty of transience, the limits of knowledge and power, and the ethical responsibility of humankind within a fragile universe. This exhibition is the first presentation of the already renowned young artists in Munich and is curated by the art historian Tinatin Ghughunishvili-Brück.
