translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
080310: Lives and works in Vienna III
Kunsthalle Wien
Lives and works in Vienna III
05.03.10 – 30.05.10
32 out of 600
Compared to the last exhibition series “Lives and Works in Vienna”, which is held every five years, the current one, curated by Xenia Kalpaktsoglou, Raphaela Platow, Angela Stief, Olga Sviblova, is rather chaotic. Last time, a scaffold by the architects propeller z structured the space, this time only the art works structure the exhibition design.
In 2005, the majority of the artists were well known (Carola Dertnig, Dorit Margreiter, Muntean/Rosenblum, Constanze Ruhm), this time they are all new discoveries, who until now have never been presented by established Viennese institutions or galleries. Among them are Maria Bussmann with her threatening surrealistic drawings or Stephen Mathewson with his tragic-funny comic strip.
Additional sympathy is gained by inviting artists who not only offer diverse positions but also represent various generations. Rudolf Polanzky, Mara Mattuschka and Hubert Sielecki represent the generation of the over 50-year olds, and others, like Kathi Hofer or Marianne Vlaschits, were born in the 1980’s.
Every attempt to “measure” the scene is difficult, and it is not easy to find new paths in this relatively small metropolis compared to other European cities – only 32 out of 600 submissions were accepted. Some examples of the works presented here include grotesque pieces (e.g. Tillmann Kaiser’s “Harmolodisches Gebirge”, Constantin Luser’s grandiose fineliner-drawings, Rudolf Polanzky’s bizarre performance videos), constructive-analytical work (e.g. Manuel Knapp’s stage-like installations, Luisa Kasalicy’s building material setting), and expressive work (e.g. Tomak’s brutal paintings, Mara Mattuschka’s crazy film). On the other hand, the “Theory-Politics-Social Criticism”-Party is only represented in a homeopathic dose – and if this is justified, remains questionable. How the Vienna artist’s scene will be valued elsewhere, remains to be seen in July at the Secession.
By Nina Schedlmayer
Kunsthalle Wien
1070 Vienna, Museumsplatz 1
Tel: +43 (0)1 521 89 – 0
Fax: +43 (0)1 521 89 – 0
http://www.kunsthallewien.at
Opening hours: daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
080310
Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier
1070 Wien, Museumsplatz 1
Tel: +43 1 521 89-0
Email: office@kunsthallewien.at
http://www.kunsthallewien.at
Öffnungszeiten: Di-So 10-19, Do 11-21 h
Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier
1070 Wien, Museumsplatz 1
Tel: +43 1 521 89-0
Email: office@kunsthallewien.at
http://www.kunsthallewien.at
Öffnungszeiten: Di-So 10-19, Do 11-21 h