MANUEL ABENDROTH
“In choosing LAb[au] as a collective name, we made an artistic and conceptual statement. Uniting LAB—the laboratory as a method of research—with BAU—the construction and development of practice—the name expressed our shared vision: to develop a language of art as an expression of its time rather than as an individual signature. This page traces my path from the formative experiences preceding LAb[au] through thirty years of collective practice and conceptual inquiry.”
Manuel Abendroth
Artist, Curator, Architect
Founder of LAb[au]
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Manuel Abendroth was born in 1969 in Wels, Austria, into a theatrical environment: his mother, Karin Abendroth, was a set designer, and his father, Michael Abendroth, an actor. From the age of seven, he was regularly involved in productions at the Stadttheater Pforzheim, acting and later drawing costumes, painting posters and assisting with stage direction. In 1987, he presented his first solo exhibition at Galerie Raum in Pforzheim. Following his civil service, he worked from 1988 to 1991 as an exhibition assistant and coordinator at the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, working closely with Zdenek Felix on the preparation and realisation of exhibitions. He worked directly with Hanne Darboven and Gerhard Merz and contributed to exhibitions by Michelangelo Pistoletto, Elaine Sturtevant and On Kawara. In 1992, he moved to Brussels to study architecture at La Cambre, graduating in 1998. During his studies, he developed a series of competition entries and realised architectural projects, including Maison 15h05 in Philippeville in 1995. In 1997, his proposal Liquid Axis won an international ideas competition in Thessaloniki. Initially conceived as an individual project, it became the catalyst for founding LAb[au] that same year as a collective artistic and conceptual framework. Alongside his studies, he collaborated with artists and curators, including Marin Kasimir, Christoph Blase, and Joël Benzakin. Alongside his artistic practice, he co-founded and artistically directed the exhibition platforms MediaRuimte and Société. He currently continues this curatorial research through TOPO?, conceived as a more nomadic platform activated through occasional exhibitions and curatorial projects. His path unfolds across art, architecture, curatorial practice and writing, with a particular focus on language, systems and how art becomes an expression of its time. -
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 1987 FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION Galerie Raum, Pforzheim, Germany 1988–1991 EXHIBITION ASSISTANT AND COORDINATOR Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Germany Worked closely with Zdenek Felix on the preparation and realisation of exhibitions. Worked directly with Hanne Darboven and Gerhard Merz and contributed to exhibitions by Michelangelo Pistoletto, Elaine Sturtevant and On Kawara. 1992–1998 ARCHITECTURE STUDIES La Cambre, Brussels, Belgium Diploma in Architecture, 1998. 1992–1998 SELECTED EXHIBITION AND ARTIST ASSISTANCE Joël Benzakin — exhibition assistance, Le Nouveau Musée, Villeurbanne, France Christoph Blase — exhibition assistance for Le Monde critique, Kunstverein Hamburg, Germany Marin Kasimir — artist assistance, Atelier Calder, Saché, France 1995 MAISON 15H05 Realised residential project, Philippeville, Belgium 1995-1997 SELECTED ARCHITECTURAL COMPETITIONS AND PROJECTS Art Box — competition-winning architectural project A Way of Living — competition-winning architectural project VAX School — competition-winning architectural project 1997 LIQUID AXIS Winning proposal, International Ideas Competition, Thessaloniki, Greece Initially conceived as an individual architectural project, Liquid Axis became the catalyst for founding LAb[au] in 1997. SINCE 1997 FOUNDER AND ARTIST LAb[au], Brussels, Belgium Collective artistic practice bringing together art, architecture, language and conceptual inquiry. 2003–2013 CO-FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MediaRuimte, Brussels, Belgium Exhibition platform presenting exhibitions, performances, residencies, workshops and international curatorial projects. 2015–2021 CO-FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Société, Brussels, Belgium Exhibition platform investigating conceptual strategies and their continued relevance within contemporary artistic practice. SINCE 2022 CO-FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TOPO?, Brussels, Belgium Nomadic platform activated through occasional exhibitions and curatorial projects, exploring new forms of presenting, contextualising and reflecting on art. -
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS SINCE 2025 — STAMPS, REVISED Ongoing artwork series reactivating the postage stamp as image, printed matter, unit of value, political sign and instrument of circulation DEVELOPED WITHIN THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF LAb[au] — ERASE ON KAWARA — ENTROPIE — TONERCHROMES — MONOCHROMES — UPB — Pb, Cu DIARY Signed: LAb[au], Manuel Abendroth BEFORE LAb[au] — SCHICHTUNGEN Artwork series exploring the constituent layers of classical oil painting, revealing architecture as intrinsic to painting itself. ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS, 1992–1997 1995 — MAISON 15H05 Realised residential project, Philippeville, Belgium COMPETITION-WINNING ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS ART BOX, A WAY OF LIVING, VAX SCHOOL 1997 — LIQUID AXIS Winning proposal, International Ideas Competition, Thessaloniki, Greece Catalyst for the founding of LAb[au] -
WRITINGS 2026 — FROM REPRESENTATION TO REPRESENTABILITY Towards an Operative Aesthetic A philosophical and linguistic essay examining how something becomes representable through the structures and processes that condition what can be shown—and where the unrepresentable begins. 2026 — FARBEN | FERNAB (COLOURS FAR AWAY) Another Approach to Colour Through the permutation of the German word Farben into fernab—far away—the essay approaches colour through language and etymology, developing a previously unwritten taxonomy of colours. English, German, French 2025 — PUNCTUM, ZEIT SETZEN (INSCRIBING TIME) Writing Time, Reading History Tracing an unwritten lineage of artistic thought from Almir Mavignier through Hanne Darboven to LAb[au]. English, German, French 2022 — FROM VISUAL AND CONCRETE TO ALGORITHMIC AND INTELLIGENT POETRY Curatorial research paper written in preparation for the curated group exhibition P,OE?!e TOPO?, Brussels, Belgium French, English 2021 — LE LANGAGE DE L’IMAGE ET L’IMAGE DU LANGAGE Curatorial research paper written in preparation for the unrealised exhibition project Remplacement et Ekphrasis. French, English 2018 — FROM ANALOGIES TO TRANSCODING Curatorial research paper written in preparation for the group exhibition Transcoding Société, Brussels, Belgium French, English
![Manuel Abendroth, artist and founder of LAb[au]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb1d51_d59d293bd7544a5a8ef6def759f37763~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_480,h_600,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/fb1d51_d59d293bd7544a5a8ef6def759f37763~mv2.jpg)