Rirkrit Tiravanija: The House That Jack Built

Pirelli HangarBicocca presents “The House That Jack Built”, the first retrospective dedicated to Rirkrit Tiravanija’s architectural and spatial research. A leading figure in relational art, Tiravanija works between art and life, inviting participation. In the Navate, visitors navigate a maze where each encounter encourages shared experiences of leisure, rest, care, conviviality, and collaboration.

Tiravanija (Buenos Aires, 1961; lives in New York, Berlin, Chiang Mai) reshapes artistic practice by questioning the definition of art. Since the 1990s, his work emphasises social engagement, inviting active participation. His installations, performances, and films redefine conventional boundaries, exploring cultural identity, globalisation, and the tension between “local” and “global”.

The retrospective, curated by Lucia Aspesi and Vicente Todolí, spans thirty years of research in spatial and architectural practices. Tiravanija conceives buildings as platforms, whose value is defined by use and inhabitants rather than form. Designed as an immersive maze, the exhibition presents architectural works and communal spaces where visitors become protagonists, fostering encounters, dialogue, and continuous reactivation of the works.