A central location for Sigmar Polke: Athanor NOW is the Ruhr Museum—formerly the Ruhrland Museum—whose collection provided the rock crystal and meteorite that the artist incorporated into his 1986 installation in Venice. In October 2026, artist Nico Joana Weber will realize a specially developed exhibition in the Ruhr Museum’s display depot at Zollverein.
Meteorite and Quartz Crystal
Nico Joana Weber, Meteorite and Quartz Crystal (WT)
The exhibition is being held in the impressive display depot of the Ruhr Museum. Since 2021, around 25,000 objects have been on display in the converted former salt factory, guiding visitors through the categories of nature, culture, and history across three floors. Weber’s exhibition will take place on three platforms on the third floor, the “Nature” level. The starting point is three existing works that she created in the context of the mineralogical collection of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. These will be expanded with new productions that approach the Athanor installation from artistic and research perspectives. A new video and sound work, as well as accompanying collages and material experiments, focus on the history surrounding the loan of meteorite and quartz crystal for the installation in Venice, in addition to Polke’s intense preoccupation with and processing of minerals and natural pigments throughout his work.
Nico Joana Weber (*1983) works with artistic research methods with the aim of finding creative expression. Her work often starts with site-specific and literary research, travel, collecting materials, and archival work. She's especially interested in processes of transformation and appropriation, as well as making hidden narratives visible. She studied Fine Art and Art History at Goldsmiths College London and completed postgraduate studies at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. She has already received numerous awards, including the Bonn Art Prize (2019), the North Rhine-Westphalia Young Artists' Award (2017) and the Villa Romana Prize (2016). Her works have been presented in a series of international exhibitions and screenings.
Nico Joana Weber, Meteorite and Quartz Crystal (WT)
Exhibition, 9 October–4 December 2026, Schaudepot des Ruhr Museums auf Zollverein, Essen