Tomás Saraceno in "Realms of the Real" – Season 12 | Art21

Why It Matters

Saraceno’s work shows how art can catalyze sustainable technology and amplify indigenous perspectives, offering a replicable model for climate‑focused cultural innovation.

Key Takeaways

• Saraceno links spider webs to planetary and cosmic networks.
• Collaborative studio unites 32 cultures across art, architecture, science.
• “Sounding the Air” sonifies spider silk vibrations for human perception.
• Aerocene uses plastic waste to create solar‑heated, levitating sculptures.
• Projects empower indigenous communities, merging environmental activism with art.

Summary

The video profiles Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno, exploring his philosophy that spider webs are metaphors for planetary and cosmic connectivity, and his practice of merging art, architecture, and science.

Saraceno’s studio operates as a multilingual, multicultural hub of 32 cultures, fostering collaborations that produce works like “Sounding the Air,” which amplifies spider silk vibrations, and “Particular Matter(s),” an immersive 30‑meter web sculpture that uses light, subsonic frequencies, and bodily vibration to alter perception of space.

Notable examples include the Aerocene project, which transforms single‑use plastic bags into solar‑heated, buoyant structures that fly without fossil fuels, and a ritual with Pachamama that enabled a successful lift, symbolizing the union of indigenous belief and technological innovation.

By turning ecological waste into kinetic art and giving voice to marginalized communities, Saraceno challenges conventional notions of architecture, sustainability, and cultural hierarchy, suggesting a future where artistic practice drives environmental justice and interdisciplinary problem‑solving.

Original Description

Art21 proudly presents an artist segment featuring Tomás Saraceno from the "Realms of the Real" episode in the twelfth season of the "Art in the Twenty-First Century" series.

"Realms of the Real" premiered in February 2026 on PBS.

Working out of his Berlin studio, artist Tomás Saraceno creates interactive installations, immersive architectural interventions, and participatory community projects that research how to best steward the planet and cohabitate with all its forms of life.

Tomás Saraceno was born in 1973 in Tucuman, Argentina, and currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Learn more about the artist: https://art21.org/tomassaraceno/

Support the production of films and educational materials about contemporary artists and art. Donate: https://art21.org/give.

CREDITS

Director: Stephanie Wang-Breal

Executive Producer: Tina Kukielski

Series Producer: Nick Ravich

Producer: Nan Sandle

Editor: Colin Nusbaum

Director of Photography: James Fideler

Associate Producer: Andrea Chung

Associate Curator: Jurrell Lewis

Design & Animation: Momentist, Inc.

Composer: Andrew Orkin

Artwork Courtesy: Tomás Saraceno & Tonya Bonakdar Gallery

Special Thanks: The Art21 Board of Trustees, Lars Behrendt, Sarah Kisner, Claudia Melendez, Roland Muhlethaler, Max Parnell, Maristella Svampa.

On January 25, 2020, "Aerocene Pacha" set 32 world records for being the most sustainable flight in human history. It rose with the message: “Water and Life are Worth More than Lithium”, written with the communities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc, Argentina. aerocene.org

The "Arachnophilia" project’s achievements include: the Spider/Web Scan, allowing for the first time precise 3D models of complex spider/webs, and advancements in biotremology, bioacoustics and biomateriomics. They have been published in journals including PNAS, and featured in Nature. Collaborators include spider diviners from Somié, Cameroon; Max Planck Institute; and MIT. arachnophilia.net

Series Created By: Susan Dowling & Susan Sollins

Full credits available at: https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s12/tomas-saraceno-in-realms-of-the-real/

© 2026 Art21, Inc.

"Art in the Twenty-First Century" is made possible with original production funding provided by The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Lambent Foundation, Agnes Gund, Melony and Adam Lewis, National Endowment for the Arts, Teiger Foundation, Sarah Arison, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Dealer Tire, Arts, Equity, & Education Fund™, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Elyse and Lawrence B. Benenson, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Tim and Lauren Schrager Family Foundation.

TRANSLATIONS

Translated subtitles are generously contributed by our volunteer translation community.

Visit our translation team at Amara for the full list of contributors: https://amara.org/teams/art21/

#TomasSaraceno #Art21 #ArtInTheTwentyFirstCentury