Alexander Johannes Heil


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"Space itself, as we experience it, is rather defined by the structures and objects describing it, than by itself. It is hard for us to picture space without any framing, which defines and shapes it. Even our universe, which might be the largest space we know, is restricted. We picture it as a spheric body confined by something else, often referred to as nothingness and sometimes represented by the white paper of a book's page. But what is happening inside this sphere - inside space? There are objects. Space is so to speak floating, or streaming between objects, which in turn define certain areas and characterize them. So, space and its feel, its appearance, and its emotional effects on us are mostly produced by the objects defining space at a specific location.    While looking into a vast natural scenery, our gaze is locating structures, objects, and frames to grasp on to and to differentiate areas inside the larger space. These Objects, structures, and frames are important to us while experiencing space. If they would not exist, we would wander aimlessly through space without any hold, not knowing where we are, nor where we are going."

Alexander J. Heil



 "Architects tend to talk and write more than they build, because it takes an effort before you get the expensive assignment. As an architect, Alexander can write, no doubt. But what he learned the past years, and that’s how he used his studies perfectly, is how to listen. That fabulous fact made him change from seeing space as something to use at will into an entity to listen to and react to. Alexander might have become something of an anti-architect — someone who is not filling space with things, but embracing space to leave it, and emphasize its existence as such. Alexander did not only initiate wonderful events-in-space during his studies, but he also re-worked them in a portfolio that does not only clarify his ideas in a consistent way, but also functions as a manifest towards how we could experience space as such."

Taconis Stolk,
Head of Department ArtScience Interfaculty
Graduation speech, Den Haag 2020



Alexander Johannes Heil is a German artist and architect currently based in The Hague. He received his B.Sc. Architecture at the Technical University in Berlin in 2017 with a focus on architecture theory and design. He graduated with a M.Mus ArtScience from the Royal Conservatory The Hague. His thesis project "Substanzraum, the space of substance", was nominated for the KABK Master Department Award. Alexander’s work, which usually takes the form of performative installations and spatial interventions, is a playful exploration of space, form and the human within.

CV (PDF)



© 2021 Alexander Johannes Heil