New technologies have not only influenced artistic practice, shaping new forms of art, but have also had an impact on curatorial work. Technological progress enables artists to explore innovative forms of expression that often demand different viewing habits. Consequently, new approaches to exhibition necessitates new modes of presentation. This has been evident with mediums like video and recent immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR). In particular, the widespread use of the internet has had a profound impact on the art world, opening up an entirely new space for artists and curators.

The transition to web-based realm opens up a different framework for action. Online art spaces offer possibilities that go far beyond physical or traditional exhibition spaces. The physical is defined by its architectural structure, material interior, and structural aspects like opening hours and entry regulations. Here, the exhibition must conform to the requirements of the venue. In contrast, online spaces are shaped by digital elements such as graphics, animations, or interactive features. These digital components are typically flexible and can be customized to suit the exhibition’s needs. The online framework is thus more adaptable, and as a result, it allows for 24/7 global reach, unlimited spatial possibilities, and dynamic content updates. In this environment, online exhibitions promote barrier-free access and direct participation, reaching audiences in their immediate everyday lives on devices such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones. For this reason, as Katarína Rusnáková writes, the internet enables real communication with the audience, based on new forms of discourse such as chat rooms.[1] It offers a democratic approach, enabling projects that deal with the socio-political questions of our time.[2] This accessibility supports a more inclusive art world that embraces current technical advancements. Furthermore, it pushes the boundaries of perception and encourages a rethinking of how art is presented, experienced, and made accessible.

With the widespread accessibility of the internet since the early 1990s, it is finding its way into the art world. Artists and curators use the web as a platform for presenting and distributing art, opening up a web-based space for experience. One of the earliest projects worth mentioning is The Thing (1991), founded by Wolfgang Staehle, which served as a forum for the exchange of art and artists. Another notable platform is Hyper X (1995), a digital exhibition space for net art, curated by Alt-X in collaboration with other curators such as Mark Amerika, Christiane Paul, and Marisa Olson. Similarly, Splashback: Rhizome's Splash Pages (1998–2002) aimed to provide immediate online access to art while simultaneously reflecting the speed of the internet. In addition, whitneybiennial.com presented the works of the 2002 Whitney Biennial digitally as a supplement to the physical art show. Since its founding in 2013, Panther Modern has continuously expanded its virtual exhibition space, allowing for a spatial experience of the artworks. This list can be continued into the present day of Web 3.0; however, it is still very fragmentary.[3]

These early online spaces were often quite experimental and technically limited. They either adapted to or built their own framework on platforms.[4] Such early examples laid the groundwork for what followed in the digital art world. Many of these websites are no longer accessible and only partially documented, which therefore leaves a large research gap in the field. This also underlines the fact that the internet is a constantly evolving medium, as can be seen in concepts like Web 2.0, Web 3.0, and the metaverse.[5] Websites are generally not permanent. They depend on ever-changing browser technologies as well as providers and maintenance. However, with technical advancements, new opportunities for digital art and online exhibitions continue to emerge—especially with the current development of WebXR[6].

Due to the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shift to the internet, not only did numerous online projects emerge again, but their reflection and contextualization also gained traction. In this context, the discourse has primarily been descriptive, focusing on structural and formal potentials that enhance accessibility and visibility of contemporary art by outlining characteristics of the digital. A media-theoretical approach is often taken, tracing the development of the internet as a whole and the specific development of various platforms and technologies such as VR. Contributions from Francesca Baglietto (2016)[7], David England (2016)[8], Annet Dekker (2021)[9] or Lívia Nolasco-Rózsás with Marianne Schädler (2023)[10], illustrate this development. While the influence of technology is frequently acknowledged, a deeper analysis of the internet as an artistic space remains largely unexplored. This gap, however, presents an opportunity for further investigation and critical engagement.

The evolving platforms and their underlying technologies enable varying approaches to spatial work. So far, this aspect has largely been overlooked in terminology. However, since these factors fundamentally shape both curatorial and artistic practice and the experience of the artwork, an attempt at a conceptual differentiation will be made here. Accordingly, a distinction can be made between two forms: the digital and the virtual online exhibition. While the former operates on the two-dimensional surface of the website, the latter allows for a three-dimensional experience. To illustrate the characteristics of these two forms in more detail, projects realized by the independent curatorial collective peer to space are presented below. Since 2016, the curatorial network has been realizing online exhibitions across various platforms, employing different approaches to presentation and interaction as well as integrating media such as VR. The projects offer the opportunity to present artworks to a global audience and to make them experienceable beyond the white cube of institutions or galleries. The ability to exhibit a significantly larger number of artistic positions enables a broader discourse and a more complex presentation of the respective topics.

 

Exhibition view of NARGIFUS—ANIMATED SELF PORTRAITS, 2016–2019, curated by Carla Gannis and Tina Sauerlaender on NewHive (online), on view: Patrick Lichty and Shayna Hawkins. Photograph by Tina Sauerlaender © peer to space

 

Exhibition view of CAT HEROICUS SUBLIMIS, 2016–2019, curated by Tina Sauerlaender and Peggy Schoenegge, on NewHive (online), on view: Od Niwr and Mathieu St-Pierre. Photograph by Tina Sauerlaender © peer to space

 

For example, NARGIFUS—ANIMATED SELF PORTRAITS (2016–2019) (fig. 1) explores animated self-portraits, while CAT HEROICUS SUBLIMIS (2016–2019) (fig. 2) examines how artists develop an abstract visual language using digital tools.[11] These exhibitions were originally hosted on the platform NewHive, which is no longer available. The online exhibitions are now offline, once again highlighting the medium’s reliance on providers and technical infrastructure. In response, the team has realized further shows on their own domains. MERMAIDS & UNICORNS (2017)[12] (fig. 3), for instance, addresses the hybrid structures of contemporary times, arguing that the image on the screen, and thus the digital sphere, is real — contrary to the habit of describing this world as not being real. Here, rather than scrolling vertically, visitors navigate horizontally through the works. The group show CLAIMING NEEDLES—Positions of Contemporary Embroidery Art (2018)[13] (fig. 4) examines contemporary embroidery art as a critical tool, expanding the meaning of female employment. As users move their mouse over the artworks, they become animated, and with a click, the audience can access additional information and detailed images. A similar approach is applied in PARADOXICAL OBJECTS—Video Sculpture Art from 1960 to Today (2021)[14] (fig. 5), which reflects on the complexity of video sculpture, merging the temporality and dynamism of the moving image with the static nature of the screen. By applying various filters, visitors can alter the curatorial arrangement of the exhibited works, creating new connections. This produces new perspectives that extend beyond the curator's narrative.

Exhibition view of MERMAIDS & UNICORNS, 2017, curated by Carlotta Meyer and Tina Sauerlaender (online), on view: Alfredo Salazar-Caro and Shyra De Souza. Photograph by Tina Sauerlaender © peer to space

Exhibition view of CLAIMING NEEDLES – Positions of Contemporary Embroidery Art, 2018, curated by Peggy Schoenegge and Darja Zub (online), on view: Birgit Dieker and Kathryn Shinko. Photograph by Peggy Schoenegge © peer to space

Exhibition view of PARADOXICAL OBJECTS—Video Sculpture Art from 1960 to Today, 2018, curated by Sue Bachmeier and Peggy Schoenegge (online), on view: Frank Balve, Bainbridge Benton and Wolf Vostell. Photograph by Peggy Schoenegge © peer to space

 

These examples utilize the two-dimensional, partially infinite surface for a curated composition of works. New approaches were sought that go beyond the usual habitus, particularly with regard to the interactive possibilities for visitors. In the process, new forms of viewing and presentation were created.

Another example of implementing the internet in curatorial practice is presented in the hybrid project EVOLVING KINETICS—Transformations of Kinetic Art in the Post-Digital Age (2023). This group exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen was also translated into an online format on the platform Common Garden, founded by the artist Constant Dullaart.[15] In the digital space, visitors also move across an infinite, two-dimensional tableau, where they appear as colorful Easter eggs — avatars representing their presence. When two or more users approach each other on the website, they can communicate with one another — much like in a video conference — and explore the exhibition together. This transforms the digital visit into a social experience, enabling a common online space.

EVOLVING KINETICS integrates digital structures into the art museum, not only creating a meaningful avenue to engage with emerging technologies but also laying the groundwork for the project’s long-term sustainability and accessibility. By embedding digital elements within the museum's infrastructure, the project ensures that audiences can interact with artworks in innovative ways while also expanding the museum's reach beyond the physical audience. This approach supports the museum's adaptation to a digitally driven future, making art more accessible to diverse audiences and promoting continuous technological integration.

In this process, the examination of virtual space and thus virtual exhibitions is relevant—particularly in light of recent developments in WebXR technology. During the pandemic lockdown in 2021, peer to space collaborated with the gallery PRISKA PASQUER. As part of the ONE TO ONE series, peer to space’s curators worked with one artist to develop an exhibition concept for the virtual gallery, hosted on Mozilla Hubs. The platform was discontinued in May 2024. Until then, it offered low-threshold access to the three-dimensional virtual realm through a multimedia approach. Visitors were able to enter the spaces via smartphones, tablets, computers, or even VR headsets, and interact with each other in real time as avatars. The ONE TO ONE series tackled a range of contemporary topics, reflecting artistically on the post-digital conditions of our time. Furthermore, all iterations share the exploration of the virtual as a new space for experiencing art. While the exhibitions at PRISKA PASQUER did not fully abandon traditional spatial structures — since the physical location was digitally replicated — the series harnessed the potential of the virtual world in how the artworks were presented and perceived.

Exhibition view of PORTRAIT OF A FUTURE, 2021–2024, curated by Peggy Schoenegge at the Virtual Gallery PRISKA PASQUER on Mozilla Hubs (online), on view: Charlie Stein. Photograph by Peggy Schoenegge © peer to space

 

This was also applied in the case of PORTRAIT OF A FUTURE (2021–2024), which was part of the ONE TO ONE series. Here, artist Charlie Stein and I brought depictions of robots and AI applications to life, transforming them into animated sculptures embedded like driftwood or boulders along the gallery’s virtual shore (fig. 6). In addition to these installation-like interventions, the dimensions of the artworks were adjusted as some of the paintings and drawings were either enlarged or reduced in scale, partly floating on the sea of the void (fig. 6). What is physically impossible due to material limitations and conditions can easily be altered with a single click in virtual space. This flexibility introduces a playful exploration of dimensions and settings. As a result, a new form of art experience emerges that pushes physical space into the background. In this context, the virtual becomes an object of experience, raising questions about our understanding of reality. Our physical reality becomes a memory in the virtual exhibition. Bound to our bodies, the immaterial environment makes us aware of our biological status, which is visually mirrored by avatars. In this framework, users experience a disembodied state of being, which in turn reflects back on the visitors themselves. This results in an exciting correlation between offline and online presence.

Exhibition view of PORTRAIT OF A FUTURE, 2021–2024, curated by Peggy Schoenegge at the Virtual Gallery PRISKA PASQUER on Mozilla Hubs (online), on view: Charlie Stein. Photograph by Peggy Schoenegge © peer to space

 

A similar situation prevailed in peer to space's inaugural Virtual Art Space exhibition (IM)MATERIAL MATTER (2021–2024) (fig. 8), also realized on Mozilla Hubs. The group show explored the nature of digital sculptures, showcasing works by Banz & Bowinkel, Entangled Others (Sofia Crespo and Feileacan McCormick), Mohsen Hazrati, Armin Keplinger, Nadine Kolodziey, Lauren Moffatt, Chiara Passa, Sabrina Ratté, and Dagmar Schürrer. Beyond the physical realm, these digital works take on new forms of sculpture, illustrating the potential of digital materiality, which is also reflected in the space itself as both break away from traditional forms. There is no floor and there are no plinths or walls to present the works. Instead, floating platforms connected by a blue moving band illustrate the center of the void. Here, visitors have to fly or teleport themselves into the space  in order to fully explore the exhibition, following a virtual approach to movement. The virtual sculptures float in space too. The three-dimensional artworks are not static, but dynamic and in constant motion. The works and the textures of the void appear as a seemingly tactile materiality. Their surfaces evoke physical materials like metal, plastic, and clay. Unlike in the physical sphere, these forms become permeable as visitors can walk through them. The dissolution of physical boundaries once again highlights the unique potential of the virtual. The artworks and the space oscillate between the material and the immaterial, revealing a virtual materiality. In deconstructing physical properties, the parameters of traditional definitions of sculpture and exhibition spaces shift, underlining digital conditions.

Exhibition view of (IM)MATERIAL MATTER, 2021–2024, curated by Peggy Schoenegge on Mozilla Hubs (online), on view: Banz & Bowinkel, Entangled Others (Sofia Crespo and Feileacan McCormick), Mohsen Hazrati, Armin Keplinger, Nadine Kolodziey, Lauren Moffatt, Chiara Passa, Sabrina Ratté, and Dagmar Schürrer. Photograph by Peggy Schoenegge © peer to space

 

The transition to the web opens up a unique realm of art experience. Everything that can be imagined becomes possible, realizable, and thus experienceable. Exhibition visits transform into interactive digital experiences, free from physical constraints like gravity. Visitors navigate the space differently, exploring entirely new ways of engaging with the artwork — seeing them from the bottom to the top, from the outside to the inside. Particularly in combination with a VR headset, the computer-generated image shifts into an immersive three-dimensional space, where we perceive and explore the virtual space as an actual environment. Through this, a different and dynamic understanding of space itself develops, allowing us to rethink exhibitions.

Curating web-based spaces therefore goes beyond the mere discussion of the topics represented by the artworks. It shifts from a process that is object-orientated to one that is dynamically technology-orientated, understanding the internet as both an experiential space and a curatorial tool. Institutions and cultural practitioners require a thoughtful engagement, a deep understanding, and, above all, a useful application of the digital context. In the broadest sense, online curation can be seen as a site-specific installation that considers and integrates local and therefore technical conditions.

From this perspective, the web can also be understood as a form of paraverse — a parallel, yet deeply interconnected universe within the multiverse of the digital realm. It shapes and redefines perspectives on curation, challenging conventional notions of reality and space. In this context, it is subject to creative and artistic creation, allowing for entirely new, self-contained worlds. Within this space, reality is not merely replicated but actively redefined, creating speculative exhibition formats that go beyond traditional presentation methods. By integrating interactive elements, dynamic structures, and boundless spatial configurations, online exhibitions dissolve the limitations of the physical and open up entirely new dimensions of art experiences.

This digital turn calls for the exploration and establishment of technologically driven methods that create a modern form of access. Its application serves as a mirror of our time, dealing with a technologized reality that curators are also called upon to convey. They help foster a critical awareness of the digital landscape, encouraging audiences to engage with contemporary art in a web-based realm. In this context, the medium itself becomes an object of contemplation, enabling a deeper understanding of the internet as a specific medium and ‘zeitgeist’ in general. This approach helps to break down barriers in engaging with new technologies. Strengthening media competence thus becomes essential for the inclusive formation of our digital future and thus for contemporary art exhibitions, promoting social participation. In this way, online exhibitions become more than digital displays; they transform paraversal spaces that reflect, challenge, and expand our understanding of art, technology, and reality in the present.

Peggy Schoenegge is an independent curator, writer and project manager at peer to space, as well as the head of the board of the Media Art Association in Berlin. Her work focuses on the conditions and challenges of the post-digital age and its impact on our everyday life, culture and society. Specifically, she addresses topics such as gender, performance, and artificial intelligence in the context of current technological developments. By curating digital art, internet art and art created with new media such as VR or AR, she realizes international group exhibitions in both physical and virtual spaces. In this framework, she explores strategies for contemporary and media-based forms of presentation. In addition, she lectures and participates in panel discussions at international conferences, symposia and events. She teaches at the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt and HTW—University of Applied Sciences Berlin. Currently, Peggy Schoenegge is pursuing a PhD on the theoretical and practical implications of web-based art spaces and their development from the initial stages of the internet until today at the Institute of Art History at the University of Bonn.