Philip Lique: Common Nests

Baker—Hall is delighted to present Common Nests, a large-scale outdoor installation by Philip Lique presented in the gallery garden, on view May 30 through July 1, 2026, with a public reception on Saturday, May 30 from 5—9pm.

Common Nests brings together a towering accumulation of handmade birdhouses stacked within a series of modular crates, forming a fifteen-foot sculptural installation that mirrors the visual language of contemporary housing development. Through repetition, density, and improvisational construction, the work translates the logic of urban planning and real estate speculation into an eccentric architectural environment for birds and other wildlife.

In creating the installation, Lique adopts multiple roles at once: architect, developer, landlord, carpenter, and marketing team. Uninformed by formal research into bird habitats or migration patterns, the structures instead reflect the aesthetic aspirations and contradictions of contemporary human housing culture. Balancing satire with sincerity, Common Nests examines systems of development, commodification, and belonging through the lens of public sculpture and social observation.

Throughout the exhibition, the birdhouses will remain accessible to local wildlife, allowing the installation to evolve through natural habitation. In tandem, select structures within the work will be listed on rental platforms, extending the project’s commentary on temporary living, hospitality, and speculative ownership.