Reto Pulfer: Zustand Hand, 2024. Hollybush Gardens, Art Basel 2024 Unlimited. Basel (Switzerland), June 13, 2024.
Official description: In Zustand Hand swathes of patchwork textiles – repurposed clothes, embroideries, hand-woven and plant-dyed fabrics – are sewn together to form a tent-like ephemeral structure. The floating assemblage creates a hybridized environment situated somewhere between temporary architecture, ancient shelters, and hand-made sculpture. The titular German word ‘Zustand’ which translates into ‘state’ or ‘condition’ not only alludes to the work’s tensile equilibrium but also to the grounding meditations encountered during the artist’s performance using sound and mnemonics. Reto Pulfer’s practice mirrors an artist’s garden where natural forces are at once familiar yet steer the audience towards discovery and mapping of the uncharted.

Reto Pulfer (born 1981 in Bern) is a self-taught artist who creates immersive installations made from fabric that incorporate painting, sculpture, fictional writing, plants, natural dye, weavings, soundscapes, and performance. Pulfer lives and works in the Uckermark region of Germany.