From April 30 to October 4, 2026, the Museum Casa di Goethe in Rome will present a solo exhibition by conceptual artist Mischa Kuball. In two series of works, the artist explores two significant events in the history of science: A work developed specifically for the Casa di Goethe visually juxtaposes the contrasting views of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Isaac Newton on color theory and the refraction of light in an open, contemporary dialogue. The installation five suns–after Galileo addresses Galileo Galilei’s observations of sunspots, which led to a conflict with the Catholic Church in the early 17th century.

Mischa Kuball (*1959) has been working primarily with the medium of light for over three decades and addresses social and political themes in his artistic practice; his works also frequently reference scientific questions, such as neuroscience or Aby Warburg’s art theory. In this context, both public and private spaces become platforms for exchange between the audience, the artist, and the work. The presentation in Rome is curated by Gregor H. Lersch, director of the Casa di Goethe.

The exhibition opens with the installation Newton/Goethe (luce nera), created specifically for this occasion. Here, the historical debate on refraction and color theory can be experienced in a way that fills the entire space. Goethe’s intensive study of light and color found expression in his treatise “Theory of Colors”, published in 1810. In it, he explicitly rejected Newton’s physical model, according to which color arises from the decomposition of white light into spectral colors. While Newton understood color as an objective property of light, Goethe placed human perception at the center: for him, colors arise in the transition between light and darkness and are inseparably linked to the observing subject. His approach was holistic, and he understood color as a phenomenon of experience. Although his theory remained controversial from a scientific perspective, it had a lasting impact on art, the theory of perception, and aesthetics, and continues to shape the thinking of numerous artists to this day.

Mischa Kuball takes up this historical discourse in a large-scale installation in which Goethe’s and Newton’s concepts of light refraction are interwoven in a projection onto a rotating body. Through movement, superimposition, and continuous change, unstable color constellations emerge that elude clear interpretation. Here, color appears not as a fixed result, but as a process dependent on light source, space, time, and perspective. The viewer becomes part of a perceptual process that oscillates between scientific analysis and subjective experience, thereby addressing central questions of knowledge and visibility.

In the installation five suns – after Galileo, in the second part of the exhibition, light is projected onto five rotating glass panes of different colors. Galileo observed the moving and changing sunspots and captured them in a series of images. Without knowing exactly what these sunspots meant, Galileo saw in them a confirmation of the Copernican worldview in contrast to the dogmas of the Church at the time: The Earth is not a disc but a sphere; it is not the center of the universe but one of several planets orbiting the sun.
Building on Galileo’s intuition, Kuball presents his own conception of visual knowledge and thought through his installation. Galileo established a new form of seeing: not authorized seeing, but “instrumentally augmented, individual, verifiable seeing.” In doing so, it becomes clear that visibility is not neutral, but is always embedded in power relations. Furthermore, Galileo’s conflict with the Catholic Church draws a thematic connection to the papal city of Rome.

five suns – after Galileo is presented on loan from the Monika Schnetkamp Collection in Düsseldorf. Monika Schnetkamp, entrepreneur, founder, and patron of the art institution KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION, received the Maecenas Award in 2023 from the Arbeitskreis selbständiger Kulturinstitute e. V. (ASKI), the association Casa di Goethe is part of.

A collaboration between the Casa di Goethe, Rome, and KAI 10 | ARTHENA FOUNDATION, Düsseldorf.

Credit of all images: © Archiv Mischa Kuball, Düsseldorf 2026