“You can say it, I don’t mind,” the President of the United States comments in response to a journalist asking New York’s new mayor whether he considers Trump a fascist. He almost seems proud of his own image. Around the world, a movement toward the darker side of power is becoming increasingly visible. Fascism is becoming more and more socially acceptable. Yet there is a reluctance to talk about this shift. Whether as a coping mechanism or blatant denial, one thing is clear: we must confront the topic to resist it. The exhibition Global Fascisms at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt takes on this challenge. But how do you visualize fascism? Where do power structures become visible? And how much aesthetics are involved? Since early September 2025, the group exhibition has explored these questions, bringing together artistic positions that trace the rise of authoritarianism in our time: the bodies it shapes, the technologies that drive it, and the psychological landscapes it leaves behind. The show features work by 50 international artists grappling with the growing influence of fascist ideologies. Contemporary painting, film, performance, discourse, and digital art sit alongside historical works that feel eerily familiar. A recurring theme: the seductive aesthetics of fascist systems and their analysis. And the technological and technical advances: what role, for example, do artificial intelligence and its associated (often aesthetic) pigeonholing play in the rise of fascism?
Artist Josh Kline shows how AI, automation, and political right-wing shifts hollow out work environments and make people replaceable. Jane Alexander’s sculptures (Council with Emblem) oscillate between the familiar and threatening, suggesting authority without a clear message and challenging us to question our prejudices. Eli Cortiñas dissects the image politics of the surveillance society and envisions counter-images of hybrid, resistant bodies. Hou Chun-Ming weaves queerness, mythology, and political history into a multilayered commentary on desire and repression. Anna Maria Maiolino demonstrates how migration, military dictatorship, and censorship shape artistic language without diminishing clarity or power. And Fuyuhiko Tanaka, with Japan Erection, delivers a bawdy yet painfully sharp commentary on the destructive drive and potential of patriarchal power structures. Global Fascisms is on view until 07.12.2025, with free entry on the final weekend. It’s an invitation to face hard truths.
Text: Inga Krumme / Credits: Gülsün Karamustafa, Soldier (1976), Courtesy Gülsün Karamustafa, BüroSarıgedik.Salt Research and Gülsün Karamustafa Archive; Jane Alexander, Council with emblem (2025), Monitor (2023), Representative in law enforcement jacket, (2006,14), Bird in Step Out tunic (2024), Beast (2003), Emblem (2025), Courtesy Jane Alexander; Exhibition View Global Fascisms, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), 2025, Photo: Hanna Wiedemann/HKW
Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin–Tiergarten; map
Global Fascisms 13.09.–07.12.2025. Find the full program here.
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