translated and summarized by: Liz Wollner-Grandville,
270114: Kunstraum St. Virgil - Cardinal König Art Prize 2013
Kunstraum St. Virgil
Cardinal König Art Prize 2013
28.11.2013 – 28.01.2014
K as in Kathi, Kunst & Kardinal
By Johanna Hofleitner
“K like Kunst“ in resplendent purple letters on the cover of the small catalogue of the art prize. It's pure coincidence that this time, the "K" could also be coined for the initial of the prevailing prize-winner, Kathi Hofer. But above all, the play on the letter cites a homage from art to the name-giver of the prize: Cardinal Franz König, in whose honour the "Cardinal König Art Prize" was created the year König died in 2004 by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Kothgasser. The following year, in 2005 the first awarding of the prize took place in celebration of Cardinal König's 100th birthday. From the entries of over 300 under-40's artists with primary residence in Austria or South Tirol, the prize valued at Euro 11,000 was awarded to Hans Schabus.
That the Salzburg art prize stands in the shadow of the Vienna prize, as far as publicity is concerned, has, first and foremost, to do with the (for Austria) typical phenomena of the perception of the provinces versus the country's capital. Where the selection of a high-quality jury (Rainer Fuchs, Alois Kölbl, Hubert Nitsch, Angelika Nollert and Margit Zuckriegl) of invited artists such as the prize-winner is concerned, it's an even more fascinating barometer of the young Austrian art scene, not least because in the art prize's accompanying exhibition, the contributions of all invited artists are to be seen – this year, 28 positions, amongst them Lucie Stahl with two collages, Hannes Böck with his poetic video work "Las Encantadas", Manuel Gorkiewicz with a new wall work out of paper and make-up, the current Otto Mauer prize-winner, Luisa Kasalicky, video artist Robert Lima, Markus Proschek with the oppressive, historically critical documentation conceived for Prague, Leopold Kessler, David Moises, Astrid Wagner, Caroline Heider, amongst others.
That the exhibition is located in the large round corridor erected by Wilhelm Holzbauer between 1971 and 1976 on the edge of the City of Salzburg in the Bildungshaus St. Virgil, conveys an intimate charm to the exhibition.
The entry of the prize-winner, Kathi Hofer, born 1981, is to be found almost unobtrusively situated at the beginning of the gallery: the re-interpretation of her installation "Craftivism", originally developed for the MAK gallery in 2012, consisting of a mixture of different hand-made objects, amongst which are copies of exhibits from the museum's collection, everyday objects such as vases and small presents but also some purpose-built pieces of furniture created in the museum's carpentry department, in which Hofer blurs the borders between exhibition pieces and utility objects. The question of value the presentation and the representation of thingscould come under scrutiny, but also the alleged hierarchy of original and copy.
Kunstraum St. Virgil
5026 Salzburg, Ernst-Grein-Strasse 14
Tel: +43(0) 662/ 65 9 01 -0
Fax: +43(0) 662/ 65 9 01 -509
email: office@virgil.at
http://www.virgil.at
Opening hours: Mon - Sat 8.00 - 22.00 hours, Sun 8.00 - 12.00 hours
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270114
Kunstraum St. Virgil
5026 Salzburg, Ernst-Grein-Strasse 14
Tel: +43(0) 662/ 65 9 01 -0, Fax: +43(0) 662/ 65 9 01 -509
Email: office@virgil.at
http://www.virgil.at
Öffnungszeiten: Mo - Sa 8.00 - 22.00, So 8.00 - 12.00 Uhr
Kunstraum St. Virgil
5026 Salzburg, Ernst-Grein-Strasse 14
Tel: +43(0) 662/ 65 9 01 -0, Fax: +43(0) 662/ 65 9 01 -509
Email: office@virgil.at
http://www.virgil.at
Öffnungszeiten: Mo - Sa 8.00 - 22.00, So 8.00 - 12.00 Uhr