Chloe Wise Extrasensory

The Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger | KBH.G presents 'Extrasensory', the first institutional exhibition in Switzerland by New York–based artist Chloe Wise (b. 1990). Curated by Samuel Leuenberger, the exhibition marks the artist’s first major presentation in the country and introduces her most expansive film project to date, set within a large-scale immersive installation. 

In 'Extrasensory', Chloe Wise extends her longstanding investigation into how subjectivity is constructed through images, symbols, and cultural codes. Her practice, which frequently interrogates the entanglement of representation and desire, here shifts toward the conditions of perception itself, examining how meaning is produced at the intersection of sensory experience, belief systems, and narrative structures. 

The exhibition understands perception not as a neutral reception of reality, but as an active, mediating process shaped by language, history, and cultural expectations. Wise introduces figures that evoke angels, supernatural beings, or technological apparitions, yet present themselves as unstable constructs. The curator Samuel Leuenberger notes: “This exhibition is less about defining phenomena than about how they are experienced. Chloe Wise stays with moments where perception and language begin to falter, allowing uncertainty to remain active rather than resolved. The figures that appear function as cultural tools, ways of thinking through encounters with the unknown. In an era of forced clarity, 'Extrasensory' insists on ambiguity as a form of resistance.” 

At the heart of 'Extrasensory' is a multichannel video installation in which moving images unfold across a constellation of large screens, enveloping the viewer in a shifting, cinematic environment. Across these screens, seven archetypes emerge as embodiments of mystical or metaphysical phenomena. The protagonists inhabit exaggerated roles that blur belief systems, cultural archetypes, and ideological projections. The films visually echo the iconography of Wise’s paintings while drawing on the aesthetics of late 20th century film and television, a seductive, uncanny register that underscores the exhibition’s critique of persuasion, fantasy, and mass imagery. 

An artist book in English and German with several contributions by scientists, theorists and artists is produced in conjunction with 'Extrasensory' and will be available free of charge to visitors, extending the project beyond the institution and reinforcing Wise’s interest in circulation, access, and material culture. The book will be published and distributed by Hatje Cantz.  

“With Extrasensory, KBH.G is proud to present Chloe Wise’s first major institutional exhibition in Switzerland. Her work speaks incisively to the conditions of our present moment, where images, belief systems, and sensory experience continuously overlap and collide. This exhibition reflects our commitment to supporting ambitious contemporary practices that challenge perception, expand artistic language, and invite audiences into complex, immersive encounters.”
- Raphael Suter, Director of Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger | KBH.G