Portmanteau
Sound sculptures and music machines from Munich
About
Portmanteau is the Munich artist duo Christian “Taison” Heiß and Gerald “Greulix” Schrank, founded in 2001. After years as a band and as theatre musicians at the Schauburg, the Residenztheater, Theater Konstanz and Theater Münster, they have been building stand-alone sound sculptures and music machines since around 2015. It always starts with a find from a flea market or a scrapyard. Every part brings its own history and keeps sounding in the work. A child’s chair tap-dances in homage to Karl Valentin, a flock of cake forks chirps, a vase takes over religious duties for 50 cents. The works have a double bottom: those who want to laugh, laugh; those who keep thinking find what lies underneath. They have been shown at the Valentin-Karlstadt-Musäum in Munich, the Luftmuseum Amberg and in Freyung as part of the Bavarian State Exhibition 2026.
“the Tinguelys of theatre” — Egbert Tholl, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2024 (original: „die Tinguelys des Theaters“)
Now on show
Fake Noise — True Image
Pasinger Fabrik, Munich · 8 October 2026 – 14 March 2027
Portmanteau with Martin Dessecker, Willi Haas, Leonhard Scheck and Peter Mayr. Details (in German) →
Works
Each machine has its own page, with photos, materials and dimensions (in German). All works →
Press
Texts, press quotes and photos in print quality. Free to use for coverage of Portmanteau, credit: Foto: Portmanteau. Press page (in German) →
Contact
The rest of this website is in German. Startseite →