PORTRÄTS – KUNST FÜR DIHEI | HUBER.HUBER

A friendly gaze, capable of immediately evoking sympathy, is what captures attention when observing Kaktus, a 2020 artwork that is part of the series PORTRÄTS – KUNST FÜR DIHEI (Kunst für zu Hause). However, the gaze does not belong to a person but rather to a cactus, strategically carved to resemble a face—with cuts forming eyes, a nose, and a mouth—and then photographed.
Markus and Reto Huber (Münsterlingen, 1975) are the creators of Kaktus, a pair of multidisciplinary artists and twin brothers who work under the pseudonym huber.huber. Their artistic practice includes not only photography but also collages, drawings, videos, installations, and sculptural works.

The PORTRÄTS – KUNST FÜR DIHEI series is a project born in 2020 during the first lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Forced to stay at home, the two artists began reflecting on the impossibility of visiting museums, galleries, and any other places that host art exhibitions, while at the same time realizing how valuable it is to be surrounded by artworks in everyday life.
From this reflection, PORTRÄTS – KUNST FÜR DIHEI was conceived—a project consisting of three images selected from the artists’ archive. These three artworks were offered for sale at a special price and for a limited time—from April to May 2020—before being printed in an edition corresponding to the number of orders received.
Once the order period ended, the prints were shipped along with a small mounting kit, allowing them to be immediately displayed. The designated locations for these works—the private homes of the collectors themselves—varied widely: any type of room, be it a living room, a study, an entryway, or even a bathroom, could become the perfect setting to welcome, preserve, and contemplate art.
The artworks were then photographed in their new homes, demonstrating their ability to adapt and express themselves in different and fitting ways, depending on the environment they interact with.
The project’s dedicated page on the huber.huber website showcases both the original works and their respective installation views, creating a diverse photographic album and thus completing the shared artistic action initially envisioned by huber.huber.

A portion of the proceeds from this project was donated to a Swiss organization supporting the most vulnerable individuals, who faced even greater hardship due to the pandemic.

huber.huber
Kaktus, from the PORTRÄTS – KUNST FÜR DIHEI (Kunst für zu Hause) series, 2020
Glossy photograph mounted on aluminum, 30 x 20 cm
Courtesy huber.huber

08/02/25