With You may not want to be here, the Kunsthalle Münster is presenting Zauri Matikashvili’s first institutional solo exhibition, thus offering insight into the work of the Georgian artist. Alongside his latest two-channel installation Passing the Glass (2026), which is premiering as part of the show, two of Matikashvili’s earlier films, In Katernberg (2022) and Made in Europe (2023), are also on view. The cinematic works are complemented by his sculptural series entitled You may not want to be here (since 2024), with works distributed over the entire exhibition space, entering in dialogue with his films.
Matikashvili uses his camera to attest to contemporary stories, to record social, political and historical events, and challenge given societal structures. From a variety of perspectives, he looks at topics such as identity, traditional gender roles, segregation, belonging, disunity, racism and increasing repression. In his works, he examines in which ways people’s everyday lives are related to aspects of power and resistance, and how exactly societies function—or not.
Against the backdrop of a democracy in decline, the growing challenge of authoritarian populism, a widespread shift to the political right, along with a rise in social inequalities, Matikashvili’s work takes on a notable sense of urgency. He offers us a counterpoint to those loud, polarizing and defamatory positions that tend to disregard, deny or distort the facts.
Zauri Matikashvili’s films are dedicated to individuals, groups of people or places. Quite often, his focus is on people who otherwise receive little attention. Matikashvili’s films mostly revolve around people’s specific life situations based on which he traces socio-cultural and political contexts—usually beyond the major political arenas, though still closely interwoven with them. He is a participant-observer who immerses himself in the field and takes part in what is going on. In an unassuming and quiet manner, the artist attests to what identity or migration may imply, to the intricate workings of societies and also to the extent to which opinions, attitudes and life choices can drift apart. He compiles distinct and diverse voices in his films, which can lead to dissonance and an ambiguity that is not always pleasant yet must be dealt with.
Zauri Matikashvili. You may not want to be here
Curator: Merle Radtke / Curatorial Assistant: Heiko Lietz
June 13 – September 13, 2026 / Kunsthalle Münster
