Utopia/Dystopia. A Paradigm Shift in Art and Architecture was the first “manifesto exhibition” at MAAT’s new building. Establishing a dialogue with the site-specific commissions at the museum’s Oval Gallery, these group shows presented side by side works of artists and architects who, in their respective fields, have produced insights and critical reflections on crucial themes of our times.

Echoing the 500th anniversary of Thomas More’s Utopia, the show revealed how the dichotomy between utopia and dystopia reflects a time of paradoxical acceleration, where anxiety and optimism collide.

Today, technological developments stimulate expectations of enhanced connectivity and a better quality of life. However, cyclical crises also constantly disturb the social, political and ecological spheres. With utopian and dystopian narratives typically emerging in such troubled periods, artists and architects, writers or filmmakers are crucial in proposing contradictions and proposing illuminating new possibilities. Encompassing a wide range of ideas, from a profound reflexion on the downfall of Modernism to the current political scene, Utopia/Dystopia promoted a dialogue between more than 60 artworks and projects that present unique views on the subject since the early 1970s.

Artists

Alexander Brodsky & Ilya Utkin, Mathis Altmann, Filipe Alves, Andreas Angelidakis, Archigram, Archizoom, Timo Arnall, åyr, Kader Attia, Pedro Bandeira, Pedro Barateiro, Olivo Barbieri, James Beckett, Berdaguer & Péjus, Alain Bublex, Jordi Colomer, Robert Darroll, Inês Dantas, Tacita Dean, DIS, Diogo Evangelista, Inci Eviner, Didier Faustino, Cao Fei,  ngela Ferreira, Yona Friedman, Cyprien Gaillard, Pierre-Jean Giloux, Clara Ianni, Renaud Jerez, Gonçalo Mabunda, Michael MacGarry, Luca Martinucci, Office in collaboration with Dogma, Olalekan Jeyifous, OMA, Miguel Palma, Pedro Portugal, William Powhida, Tabor Robak, André Romão, Aldo Rossi, Jonas Staal, Beniamino Servino, Michael E. Smith, Superstudio, Ryan Trecartin, Nasan Tur, WAI Think Tank, Wolfgang Tillmans, Lebbeus Woods.