Beneath the town of Centralia in the US state of Pennsylvania lies a massive coal fire that has been smoldering endlessly since the 1960s. A staggering symbol of human interference with nature spiraling out of control, this underground fire becomes the primary point of departure for Nschotschi Haslinger’s exhibition “Centralia,” taking place at Galerie Mountains in Berlin from September 11 to October 17, 2026.
In this first comprehensive solo exhibition, Haslinger constructs a multi-layered habitat through glazed ceramics, colored pencil drawings on paper, video, and performance. At the center of the works are hybrid entities oscillating between body, landscape, and autonomous life form, with long umbilical cord-like necks. Ceramic sculptures such as Anemone Centralia and Mottenlord offer an uncanny visual language where plants, animals, and geological layers intermingle. These figures advocate a “more-than-human” existence where every material in nature possesses its own agency, moving the world away from being a human-centric stage.
Along with drawings like Schatteneier im Weltenzelt and Tunneln spreading across the space, tree-shaped sculptures worn and activated by performance artists bring the human body and the artwork together in the same space of experience. Paying tribute to the legacy of the artist’s teacher Walter Dahn, who passed away in November 2024, the exhibition also establishes a meaningful connection with nearby exhibitions by Sprüth Magers (Walter Dahn) and BQ (Carina Brandes) as part of Berlin Art Week.
Like that unextinguished secret fire beneath the ground, this hybrid universe constructed by Haslinger leaves behind a deep warmth and awareness slowly spreading in the mind of the viewer.
Exhibition Note from NO-26 Editor
Artist: Nschotschi Haslinger
Exhibition: Centralia
Venue: Mountains (Berlin, Germany)
Dates: September 11 – October 17, 2026 (Opening: Thursday, September 10, 18:00 – 22:00)
Aura: Inspired by the unextinguished underground coal fire in Pennsylvania; an organoid Berlin selection shaking the anthropocentric gaze with glazed ceramic sculptures, drawings, and wearable performance elements, recalling nature’s own agency.
