Hans Haacke (*1936 in Cologne, living and working in New York), from 1956 to 1960, studied at the Staatliche Werkakademie in Kassel and, from 1961/1962, was a Fulbright scholar at Temple University in Philadelphia. Since 1965, the artist lives in New York. Most recently he taught there as a professor at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. In Europe and the US, Haacke created artistic projects in public spaces as well as in museums and institutions. Here, current issues such as economy, ecology, politics and collective historical consciousness are at the forefront. Together with Nam June Paik, Haacke in 1993 received the Golden Lion for the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. In Germany, his installation DER BEVÖLKERUNG (To the Population) at the Reichstag in Berlin in 2000 launched a broad discussion on art and politics.

Large retrospectives on Haacke were held at Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid (2012), at the Akademie der Künste Berlin and the Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2006). Haacke participated in the documenta IX (1992), documenta 7 (1982) and documenta 5 (1972). Neuer Berliner Kunstverein offers a rare photographic edition by Haacke, which refers to the economic crisis in Spain. In a Madrid suburb the construction work on residential complexes was discontinued, they remained bare structural works in streets, which are named after artists and art movements. Haacke chose a motif from the “Calle del Arte Expressionista”.