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You are warmly invited to an international public symposium at the Warburg-Haus on Friday and Saturday, October 16 and 17:

Revisiting Dieter Roth (1930–1998): Transnational Networks, Contemporary Perspectives, and Ongoing Research

The international symposium is dedicated to Roth’s multi-perspective modes of creation spanning graphic design, printmaking, architecture, design, and conceptual approaches. As such, it is part of the globally growing yet often fragmented Roth-specific research landscape, bringing together current research projects and actors in the field. At the heart of the symposium is the systematic academic examination of the transnationally created and equally situated work of the German-Swiss artist Dieter Roth.

The research focus centers on the interdisciplinary investigation of Roth’s nomadic working methods between Germany, Iceland, and Switzerland. The aim is to position his artistic stance not only within the context of fine arts, but also in the mirror of his artistic and design-oriented fields of practice at the intersection of design, architecture, applied arts, and institution-critical theory. The symposium forms the core of a network that brings together current exhibition and archival work, oral history-based projects, and art-historical analyses, alongside concrete artistic-technical questions and contemporary conservation challenges.

Initiated in 2026 at HAW Hamburg (Faculty of Design, Department of Theory, History of Art and Design) in cooperation with the Warburg-Haus Hamburg and the Dieter Roth Foundation Hamburg, the symposium marks the starting point for a future internationally touring academic workshop. The goal is to increase the visibility of current Roth research through a concerted initiative and to sustainably strengthen professional networking. Within this framework, Roth’s work will be examined in the medium and long term through the lens of questions concerning authorship, genres, forms and modes of creation, institutional needs, and modes of reception.

Due to the international scope of the event, an active exchange of knowledge will take place between the academic community, collections, institutions, professional peers, interested students from all disciplines, and the general public. Therefore, the symposium will be held in English.

Organizer: Prof. Dr. Ina Jessen. Assistant: Maximilian Gebhardt. Graphic Design: Alice Pham

Program

October 16, 2026
1.00–7.00 pm

1.00
Opening Remarks

1.30 – 2.30
Birta Fróðadóttir: Machines of Organized Chaos: Three Homes of Dieter Roth in Iceland

2.30 – 3.30
Arnar Freyr: rot or not. Dieter Roth’s Graphic Design Practice (1955 and 1964)

4.00 – 6.00
Giacomo Paravicini, Camillo Paravicini, Gianni & Flurina Paravicini: Dieter Roth – Applied Arts. Furniture / Ceramics / Textiles / Architecture / Jewelry

6.00 – 7.00
Performance
Martin Engler & David Þór: Engler sieht Roth N° 26 – gänzlich zerknüllt bzw weitgehend verbeult und Jonsson lässt es krachen

October 17, 2026
10.00 am – 6.00 pm

10.00 – 11.00
Ina Jessen: Dieter Roth and Transformative Aesthetics: The Mold Museum (1991–2004)

11.00 – 12.00
Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson: Dieter Roth: The Icelandic Interviews

12.00 – 12.30
Giacomo Paravicini: Dieter Roth / Enzo Mari. Parallel Worlds

2.00 – 3.00
Angela Chang: »Preservation« Considerations for Works by Dieter Roth in a University Teaching Museum

3.00 – 4.00
Bianca Strauß: Dieter Roth’s Prints: Photomechanical Reproduction as a Creative Act Focusing

4.15 – 4.45
Barbara Wien: »… fürchte die Welt nicht (die geruckte sowieso nicht)!« (DR) About Review for Everything and the Time with Dieter Roth / über die Zeitschrift für Alles und die Zeit mit Dieter Roth

4.45 – 5.15
Dirk Dobke: Together with Dieter Roth – The Early Years of the Dieter Roth Foundation

5.15 – 6.00
Panel Talk & Closing Remarks
Moderated by Ina Jessen

Journal

Symposium: Revisiting Dieter Roth (1930–1998)

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