Palm leaves, sunsets, forests—at the interface between installation and painting, tropical landscapes by the artist Philipp Fürhofer radiate toward the viewer in light boxes and paintings. However, the romanticism of nature is deceptive: beneath layers of paint bursts, questions regarding the existential, reciprocal influence of humans and nature, of capitalist civilization, and the constant destruction of our living environment are revealed. The catalog accompanies a focused solo exhibition at Frankfurt’s Städel Museum. Its centerpiece is a wall-filling, site-specific work, with which Fürhofer enters into a dialog with the architectural and artistic elements of the space. The result is a mystical jungle landscape in which not everything is as it seems. An essay by curator Svenja Grosser and a conversation with the opera critic Christine Lemke-Matwey contextualize the artworks in Fürhofer’s practice.Artist and set designer PHILIPP FÜRHOFER (*1982, Augsburg) is known around the world for pieces that use acrylic glass, mirrors, and light to create highly esthetic, yet subtle effects. His artworks are literally multilayered: they are simultaneously painting, sculpture, and light object. Fürhofer’s way of playing with multi-dimensional illusions is also evident in the sets he designed for the Bayreuth Festival or the opera houses of Amsterdam, London, and Copenhagen. The artist lives in Berlin.