Haus Atlantis

Haus Atlantis documents Karen Russo’s recent film projects and research into the mystical Nordic architecture of German Expressionist Bernhard Hoetger.
Circling the controversial architect and Nazi sympathiser, Russo’s narrative blends films, drawings and photographs to explore a complex layering of artistic ideas, irrationality, and nationalism.
 

By focusing on Hoetger’s projects Haus Atlantis and TET-Stadt, Russo’s examination of German Expressionism tells a different story, pointing to a time when Expressionistic concerns overlapped with National Socialism’s interest in Nordic identity, soil and ancient forms.
 

Modelled on Die Böttcherstrasse, a magazine from the 1920s edited by Hoetger himself, Russo’s publication frames research which culminated in her exhibition at Grosse Kunstschau Museum, Worpswede. The documentation of Russo’s own works is complemented by archival materials which reflect her methodology.