The Kunsthaus Graz is presenting a thought-provoking exhibition that confronts visitors with the complex realities of our current world situation. "Unseen Futures to Come. Fall," running until February 15, 2026, offers no easy optimism but instead provides a carefully curated space for reflection on global crises and human responses to uncertainty.

When asked to describe the current state of the world, most people would likely wave dismissively - too much, too overwhelming, too depressing. The current autumn exhibition at the Graz art museum doesn't serve up pure optimism either. Throughout the entire year, the institution has been curatorially dedicated to the theme of power and its meandering effects.

Visitors inevitably make a detour around Andrej Škufca's work "Black Market: 6GB Ending," whose tentacles, arms, or creeping network threads snake under the escalator. With no beginning and no end, the installation appears as inscrutable as the global situation itself at first glance. This emotion is entirely in line with Škufca's intentions, as his installation serves as a kind of mirror of capitalist excesses that absorb, exploit, and spit out the economy, nature, and humanity.

What can art accomplish in times of crisis? While it naturally carries the function of warning, in this confusion we face, such an exhibition can also provide a form of order. It offers an overview, the foundation, and a starting point for reflection. Curator and Kunsthaus director Andreja Hribernik resisted the architectural temptation to fill the large Space 02 completely, instead presenting twelve positions with room to breathe.

Central to Hribernik's vision is Federico Campagna's library: 250 books form an information cosmos modeled after our here and now, where scientific texts meet occult and esoteric writings. The seasons serve as his compass, with the needle currently pointing to autumn. "Now in autumn, our perception is called into question. Certainties and concepts we believed in are beginning to waver," Hribernik explains.

Curatorially, she sets counterpoints, noting that "the exhibition also addresses the ambivalence of human existence. We are capable of doing terrible things, but we are also capable of being empathetic." Bill Viola's video work "The Raft" (2004) demonstrates this with great intensity: after a diverse group is violently attacked with water jets, the moment the assault subsides, helpfulness immediately sets in.

Image effects and interpretations are themes addressed multiple times throughout the exhibition. Vladimir Nikolić shows "800M," part of a work that was featured at the 2022 Venice Biennale - a visually powerful piece that conjures the influential power of technology. The question arises: Is an image just an image, or is it what we make of it through the power of our interpretation?

Christoph Grill's photographs quickly pass for gloomy scenes in times of crisis - visitors can test this perception themselves. Meanwhile, the artist duo "zweintopf" conjures clichéd longings with their usual wit. In uncertain times, such nostalgic desires are known to experience a boom, as demonstrated in their work "2406079: Road to Nowhere" (2012/2025).

The exhibition "Unseen Futures to Come. Fall" continues at Kunsthaus Graz, located at Lendkai 1, 8020 Graz, until February 15, 2026. An audio guide and information about the accompanying program are available at museum-joanneum.at/kunsthaus-graz.