MAISON DOUCE
Art Collective
Art as Exorcism
Maison Douce is an art collective based in Berlin and Hamburg (Germany), by Lotte Hauss and Marc Thaddaeus Suess. In performances, sculptures and installations, the duo explores the archaic origins of art and seeks a collective reconnection to the sacred in artistic expression. Their practice draws on mythology, archaeology, dream interpretation and occult traditions - fed by a longing for connection to that which has been repressed from cultural memory but remains deeply anchored in the human condition.
Maison Douce stages ritual acts that lead the audience into immersive, trance-like spaces - for example in the full-length performance “Rauhnächte” (2024), in which sound, video and symbolic acts merge into a visionary year-end rite. In “BONES” (2023), the collective combines percussion, whispered texts and cinematic tableaux to conjure up the ancestors. Object-like works such as the 2024 series “Benediction I”, an edition of gold-plated baseball bats, also transform everyday objects into cultic artifacts between violence and consecration.
Liturgical references, banners, flags, textiles and gold-plated materials are used alongside music, trance and ecstasy – enabling a direct experience that appeals to the subconscious through archetypal symbols and sensations. This creates collective spaces in which the boundary between reception and participation dissolves.
Maison Douce sees art as an act of incantation - as a way of making lost stories tangible again and transforming the invisible into the visible.
Lotte Hauss
Lotte Hauss’ old masterly paintings, felted sculptures, and mysterious installations are offerings, amplifying the holy. Her art is a portal to connect to the eternal cosmic forces, and an invitation to step out of the personal into the realm of eternity.
“MY ART IS A DIALOGUE BETWEEN LIFE, DEATH, AND BEAUTY, MY MORTAL HEART AND THE ETERNAL COSMIC FORCES.”
After her diploma in sculpture and painting (Class of Mat Mullican, HFBK Hamburg) and her Meister student in painting (Prof. Adamski, HFBK Dresden), today she makes no difference between performing art or magic. Making art is a ritual, she serves as a medium, a priestess, transmitting what comes through into paintings, poems, and performances.
Marc T. Suess
Marc Thaddaeus Suess is an artist, creative director, and storyteller. His artistic practice is characterized by the fusion of ritual and performance, as well as the exploration of immersive narrative techniques, creating multi-layered narrative works in the form of documentaries, performances and objects. The visualization of archetypes, recurring motifs across cultures and time are a central focus.
“ART IS A PRIMAL FORCE THAT DRAGS US INTO THE ABYSS, REVEALING THE CHAOS AND MEANING THAT WRESTLE WITHIN THE DARKNESS OF OURSELVES.”
Suess explores the origins of art and creativity by traveling to folk rituals and mystical places, conducting interviews with creatives, and working collaboratively with media researchers, philosophers, and mystics.
As a podcaster and lecturer, he regularly gives insights into creativity and culture and shares his passion for exploring new forms of storytelling.
exhibitions & performances
2025
“The Master’s House is on Fire”, Exhibition and live performance, Pandora Art Gallery, Berlin, Germany
“Totem”, Soiree and open Studio, Loft in WInterhude, Hamburg, Germany
“Vor meiner Tür”, Annual exhibition of the BBK (Berufsverband bildender Künstler*innen) including the opening performance, Hamburg, Germany
2024
"Open studio”, Mothership Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
"Ancient Wisdom", Performance feat. Suzanne Schreve, Mothership Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
„Date with the Devil“, Mothership Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
„Souvenirs“, Mothership Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
„Urban witchcraft“, Mothership Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
„Transzendenz & Pop“, Open Studio with live music and reading by author Frank Berzbach, Mothership Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
2023
"In vino veritas", Mindspace, Hamburg, Germany
"Art by Wash", Wash Art Compound, Compton (Los Angeles), USA
"Ride it like ou mean it", Art gang Studios, Los Angeles, USA
"Demeter", Performance, Ostuni, Italy
"Open Stage", Show & Concert feat. Sam Stokes, Mothership Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
2022
"From Ashes to Eden II“, Loft in Winterhude, Hamburg, Germany
"Kunst mit Haltung", Charity art show & auction, Loft in Winterhude, Hamburg, Germany
"Soirée“, Loft in Winterhude, Hamburg, Germany
"Bones" Performance, Gut Zahren, Jahren, Germany
2021
2021 "From Ashes to Eden“, Savoir Vivre, Hamburg, Germany
Press
“RauhNächte zwischen den Jahren”
(Radio Feature NDR Kultur, 2024)A Culture-Radio report about our art performance “Rauhnächte” at the English Theater Hamburg.
“Rising Stars: Meet Maison Douce”
(Interview with Voyage LA, Sept 2024)“It’s all about keeping things weird and scared at the same time.”
The playful and the divine.
“Meet Maison Douce”
(Interview with Canvas Rebel, Dec 8th 2023)Excerpt: “What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Connections. To the past, present and future. To traditions and new technologies. To the most foreign, weird and f*cked up ideas, as well as to pop culture and the Zeitgeist. To every experience coming your way, good or bad, as being part of a creative journey. The playful and the divine. The whole world and the great big fat lurking nothingness. But most of all, connection to yourself and other people.”