Now What is an exhibition by Danish artist group SUPERFLEX commissioned by Arte Abierto. Bringing together an architectural structure, a sculptural installation and a new text work, the exhibition explores the relationship between human-made environments and natural forces, questioning how systems of order, design and perception shape our understanding of the world.

Developed through two years of research and experimentation, this site-specific commission opens new perspectives on the intersection of art, science, and ecology. In the context of the ecological crisis, the exhibition invites us to reconsider the dynamics between humans, other species, and the natural world, as well as the power structures that shape shared ecosystems. The work raises questions about how we might move beyond an anthropocentric view of the planet and imagine new possibilities for multispecies coexistence.

At the center of the exhibition is Romeo (2026), gigantic, amorphous pink shape that appears as a visitor of unknown origin. It could be a body, a strange geological formation, or something we have yet to identify. Visitors can enter Romeo to discover a simple, cubed space that resembles a human logic of order and usability, in contrast to its organic exterior. Its cryptic name may allude to both the NATO phonetic alphabet, used by military and aviation communications, and Shakespeare's play, without revealing the origin or significance of the name.

Romeo recalls structures found in nature, such as anthills, coral reefs and beehives, which humans often perceive as architectural despite their origins in processes unrelated to human design. By setting aside familiar architectural principles, SUPERFLEX explores the distinction between intentional construction and forms that emerge through other processes.

On the pavilion's interior back wall, One Hundred and Sixty-Four Flies Staring at Each Other (2026) presents replicas of houseflies arranged in rigid rows, facing one another in a formation unlikely to occur in nature. The artwork creates an improbable encounter between creatures whose behavior does not correspond to the intense, directed gaze that humans associate with curiosity, anger or passion. By imposing a precise geometric arrangement on the flies, SUPERFLEX subjects the animal world to a distinctly human system of organization, revealing the tension between natural behavior and the structures through which we attempt to understand it.

This tension extends to the pavilion itself. The contrast between its irregular exterior and ordered interior suggests an apparent opposition between natural forces and human-made structures. Yet these systems are not necessarily contradictory. Romeo's form, shaped by gravity and subsequently translated into architecture, demonstrates how nature continues to serve as a reference for all forms of human production.

The exhibition's title is also presented as a new text work, Now What (2026), developed in relation to the pavilion. The phrase introduces an open-ended question that frames the other works without offering a definitive interpretation. It may be understood as an urgent reflection on humanity's relationship with nature, or as an expression of uncertainty and resignation. Positioned between a call to action and an ambiguous shrug, the work leaves its meaning unresolved.

Through the relationship between architecture, sculpture and language, Now What examines the ways humans organize, interpret and relate to the natural world. Presented within the architectural and urban context of Arte Abierto Polanco, the exhibition invitesvisitors to reconsider the boundaries between what is designed and what emerges through forces beyond human intention.

The exhibition forms part of the opening of Arte Abierto Polanco, a new venue conceived not simply as an exhibition space, but as an experimental laboratory for artistic production, critical reflection and interdisciplinary exchange. Through projects connecting art, science, architecture and design, Arte Abierto seeks to create opportunities for dialogue and experimentation that extend beyond the conventional boundaries of contemporary art, encouraging new ways of understanding our surroundings and how we inhabit them.

Now What by SUPERFLEX will be on view at Arte Abierto Polanco from November 2026 through May 2028.