ALEX WISSEL: KATECHON
GALERIE NAGEL DRAXLER is delighted to present the exhibition Katechon, a solo presentation by Alex Wissel.
December 12, 2025–February 14, 2026
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my Catholic upbringing. And how strange I find it that it is currently helping me better process the political situation and the perceived dissolution of the current social order.
The term “katechon” comes from Carl Schmitt's political theology and has been discussed for several years, particularly in the macro-theories of nationalist and libertarian circles. It refers to a specific political principle or view of history that originates from Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians, used to create a political figure who will stop the impending apocalypse. Like me, Schmitt was socialized in the Catholic petty bourgeoisie.
In recent years, I have increasingly appeared as a supporting actor in theater, film, and television. For me, this is an interesting experience because I can train my empathy muscle by empathizing with the role. To further develop this training, I have started working with my body memory. In acting, this refers to the ability to recall physical experiences, movement patterns, or emotional states through the body without having to “think” about them rationally.
For the production of the exhibition, I attempted to activate my bodily memory in order to approach a specific form of masculinity that is currently gaining influence in right-wing populist movements worldwide, and which I see as directly related to the figure of the Katechon.
This temporary embodiment was the impetus for finding images related to current and historical apocalyptic thinking. The enemy is my own question as a figure.
– Alex Wissel
Alex Wissel (born 1983 in Aschaffenburg) is a visual artist with an interdisciplinary approach that combines sculpture, drawing, installation, and projects in theater and film. His international
collaborations –including the web series Rheingold at Berlin‘s Volksbühne– reflect his wide-ranging practice. His work has been exhibited at the Berliner Ensemble (2025), Kunsthalle Bielefeld (2025), Kunstverein Siegen (2024), Kunstpalast Düsseldorf (2022), Philara Düsseldorf (2019), and the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade (2014), among others.