Since the beginning of their collaboration in the 1990s, collaborative processes have been at the heart of the artistic work of Ute Hörner and Mathias Antlfinger. Their installations, videos and sculptures deal with relationships between humans, animals and machines, opening up both critical perspectives on mutable social constructs and utopian visions of an equal coexistence. More-than-human others appear in their works as individuals, with their own interests, abilities and desires. To tell their stories, Hörner/Antlfinger employ methods of multispecies ethnography, which acknowledge the connectedness and inseparability of different life forms. In 2014, together with the grey parrots Clara and Karl, they founded the interspecies collective CMUK*, which aims to decenter human animals as creators and to understand the shared productivity of human and non-human animals as collaborative agency.
Since 2009, Hörner/Antlfinger have been Professors of Media Art/Transmedia Spaces at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM). Since 2023, they have held a professorship in Multispecies Storytelling at the KHM. Their work has been presented at major international exhibitions, festivals and conferences, and is featured in numerous publications
Ute Hörner studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, followed by postgraduate studies in Media Art at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. She served as festival director of Videonale 8 at the Bonner Kunstverein. Since 1990 she has been collaborating with Mathias Antlfinger. From 1998 to 2008 she was Professor of Media Art at the Burg Giebichenstein, Kunsthochschule Halle. From 2009 to 2022 she was Professor of Transmedial Spaces/Media Art at the Academy of Media Arts Colognen (KHM). Since 2023 she has been Professor of Multispecies Storytelling at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.
Mathias Antlfinger studied sculpture, mathematics, and cybernetics at the Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart and the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. From 1989 to 1992 he was a member of the artist group Büro Bert. Since 1990 he has been collaborating with Ute Hörner. He is a founding member of XObject Space, a space for art and media in Düsseldorf. From 2009 to 2022 he was Professor of Transmedial Spaces/Media Art at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM). Since 2023 he has been Professor of Multispecies Storytelling at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.
Hörner/Antlfinger live and work in Cologne.
Exhibitions and Screenings (Selection): “ANIMALIA, von Tieren und Menschen”, Heidi Horten Collection, Wien (2026), “Vogelperspektiven, die Vögel und wir”, Museum Sinclair-Haus, Bad Homburg (2026), “zusammen arbeiten”, Haus der Kunst, München (2025), “Húmus, Arte et Naturezza”, Espaço das Artes, ECA, Sao Paolo (2025),”Parrot Terristories”, TA T Tieranatomisches Theater, Berlin (2024/25), “Verrückt nach Fleisch”, Museum für Brot und Kunst, Ulm (2024), “Start Sniffing” Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Wien (2024), “Arten Festival”, Zürich (2024), “MEMORY IS NOT ONLY PAST”, Akademie der Künste der Welt, Cologne (2024), “IN THE FOREIGN. Aspects of Migration”, Kaunas Picture Gallery, Kaunas, Lithuania (2023), “VIDEOCITY, Gleitende Identitäten”, REX Box, Bern (2023). “Animalia, Streifzüge von Los Angeles bis Mumbai”, Kunsthalle Darmstadt (2023), “becoming-with”, Streitfeld München (2023), “ParrotPeople”, Meinblau Project Space, Berlin (2023), „Visual Natures: The Politics and Culture of Environmentalism of the 20th and 21st Centuries“, Research Exhibition, MAAT | Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia, Lisboa (2022), „Parrots and Swans“, Ratingen (2022), “Yūgen App” Porto Design Biennale (2021), “wild/schön, Tiere in der Kunst”, Kunsthalle Emden (2021), “Der Traum vom Wohnen”, Museum Ratingen (2021), “THE CONNECTION: von pflanzen, menschen und anderen tieren”, IFFF Dortmund (2021), “Octopus Encounters, An Immersive Library”, GLASMOOG, Köln (2020), “Artist Videos Collection”, Alfred Brehm Haus, Renthendorf (2020), Okto-Lab19, “A Gallery of Octopus Aesthetics”, Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania (2019), “Goodbye Cruel World, It’s Over”, Weltkunstzimmer, Düsseldorf (2019) “A Museum of Curiosity“, 14th Trienniale of small-scale sculpture, Fellbach (2019), “HEART OF AN OLD CROCODILE EXPLODING OVER A SMALL TOWN“, Temporary Gallery, Köln (2019), “INSIDE ECOLOGIES“, Weltkunstzimmer Düsseldorf (2018), “TIERISCH BESTE FREUNDE, Über Haustiere und ihre Menschen“, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden (2017), “TAVIDAN“, CCA-Center for Contemporary Art Tbilisi, Georgien (2017), “Animal and the Logic of Others“, Exhibition Laboratory, Helsinki (2017), “alles zur Zeit, Über den Takt, der unser Leben bestimmt“, Vögele Kulturzentrum, Pfäffikon, Schweiz (2017), “Animal Lovers“, NGBK Berlin (2016), “PlanetB“, NRW Forum Düsseldorf (2016) | “DIE WELT IN DER WIR LEBEN“, kjubh Kunstverein, Köln (2016) | “SARAJEVO TIME TRAVEL AGENCY“, Gallery Duplex100m2, Sarajevo (2016) | “we, animals – biographies“, Meinblau Berlin (2014) | “naturantes“, Paco das Artes, Soa Paolo, Brasila (2014) | “Tavidan, Ursprung und Entstehung“, Weltkunstzimmer Düsseldorf (2014) | “Hörner/Antlfinger, Discrete Farms“, Edith-Russ-Site for Media Art, Oldenburg (2012) | “Ars Electronica“, Austria (2012) | “Live Wire. Art and Electricity“, Shedhalle Zürich, Switzerland (2011) | “Videonale: Dialogue in Contemporary Video Art“, National Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan (2011)| “Istanbul Time Travel Experiment“, Istanbul 2010, European Capital of Culture, Turkey (2010) | “Images in Movement, Artists & Video/Film“, Museum Ludwig, Cologne (2010) | “Der blinde Fleck“, Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, NGBK Berlin (2008) | “Wildes Kapital“, Kunsthaus Dresden, Galerie für Gegenwartskunst (2006) | “Happy Believers“, Werkleitz Biennale (2006) | “Hörner/Antlfinger, figures“, Galerie der Stadt Backnang (2004) | “Das Museum unserer Wünsche“, Museum Ludwig, Köln (2001) | “Ars Viva Kunst und Wissenschaft“, ZKM Karlsruhe, Ludwigforum Aachen, Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle | “Hörner/Antlfinger, Two Lives Dialogues“, NGBK Berlin (1999)
International Festivals: Transmediale Berlin | European Media Art Festival Osnabrück | Shift Electronic Arts Festival Basel | Videonale Bonn | Digital Art Festival, Taipei | ISEA 2010 (Dortmund) | Kasseler Documentary Film and Video Festival | Lux Media Art Festival Sydney (Australia) | International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
Grants and Awards: Project Grant, Kunststiftung NRW und Hauptstadtkulturfonds Berlin (2024), Travel Grant Tasmania, ifa (2019), First Place, contest for art-in-architecture, City of Munich (2019, Project Grant, Kunststiftung NRW (2015), Project Grant, ifa (2015), Urban Space Video Walk Prize (2015), Honorary Mention, Prix Ars Electronica, Linz (2012) | Project Grant, Kunststiftung NRW (2012) | Artists in Residence, Digital Art Center Taipei, Taiwan (2011) | Project Grant, Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Arts, Oldenburg (2010) | Project Grant, Mikulov Art Symposium, Czech Republic (2009) | 5. Marler Video-Installation-Award (2008) | Stipendium der Kunststiftung Sachsen-Anhalt im Kontext der 7. Werkleitz-Biennale (2006) | Werk 04, Preis für Kunst im öffentlichen Raum, Bildhauersymposion Heidenheim (2004) | ars viva 00/01 – Preis für Bildende Kunst des Kulturkreises der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI (2001) | Stipendium der Kunststiftung NRW