AUSTRIA: 1900 – 2000
CONFRONTATIONS AND CONTINUITIES
17.02.06 – 21.05.06
>Austria: 1900-2000 / Confrontations and Continuities< is the title of a spectacular exhibition of Austrian art which will be held at The Essl Collection’s museum from 17 February until 21 May 2006.
The Essl Collection succeeded in winning Wieland Schmied, a profound expert of Austrian art and curator of international renown, as a curator for the exhibition. Contemporary tendencies are taken care of by Silvie Aigner, who developed the concept for the presentation “contemporary artistic positions”.
The exhibition will feature 111 artists from the areas of painting, sculpture, drawing and the new media. The presentation of approx. 270 works of art will span The Essl Collection’s entire exhibition premises of 3.200 square metres.
While the works up until 1945 are mainly loans from public and private collections in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the lion’s share of works from the post-war period and later are from The Essl Collection’s own holdings. The show will also include exceptional paintings by outstanding artists, including Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Richard Gerstl, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Oppenheimer, Koloman Moser, Albin Egger-Lienz, Werner Berg, Franz Sedlacek, Arnold> Schoenberg, and Herbert Boeckl.
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EGON SCHIELE Bildnis Trude Engel (1915) Öl auf Leinwand, 100 x 100 cm © Nachlass Egon Schiele |
HERBERT BOECKL Erzberg (1942) Öl auf Leinwand, 116 x 136 cm © Nachlass Herbert Boeckl |
Exhibition concept
The exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Austrian art developments in the 20th century, the period in art history characterised by the most profound changes. The exhibition is divided into five sub-periods: post 1900 (1900- 1918), the inter-war years (1930s), post 1945 (1945 – 1965), new tendencies (1956-1995) and contemporary artistic positions (1995-2005)Like a coordinate system, the exhibition maps the most important confrontations and continuities in 20th Austrian art. In this coordinate system, the continuities provide the vertical axis, while the horizontal axis reflects the confrontations which are perpetuated from era to era.
One of the continuities is a line reaching from expressive to abstract art, containing names such as Richard Gerstl, Herbert Boeckl and Josef Mikl. Another line can be drawn from the exalted poses of Egon Schiele’s figures to late 20th century Body Art, while aspects of the uncanny depicted by Alfred Kubin and Klemens Brosch are continued, for instance, in the work of Günter Brus.
Confrontations include contrasting views rooted in personal rivalry, as for instance between the early Oskar Kokoschka and Max Oppenheimer, or differences in principle, as between the notions of “Josephinism” and Baroque.
They culminate in the conflict between Adolf Loos and Karl Kraus on the one hand, and the Klimt group and Wiener Werkstätte on the other. In the post-war era, these oppositions are continued in the dualism separating the group of artists surrounding Otto Mauer (Rainer, Mikl, Hollegha, Prachensky) and the School of Phantastic Realism (Brauer, Fuchs, Hausner, Hutter, Lehmden).
 RICHARD GERSTL Selbstbildnis vor blaugrünem Hintergrund (1906/07) Öl auf Pappe, 100 x 72 cm © Nachlass Richard Gerstl |
 JOSEF MIKL Raimund - Der Diamant des Geisterkönigs Eduard und seine Hoffnung (1996) (aus einem 4-teiligem Werk), Öl auf Leinwand, 150 x 100 cm © Josef Mikl |
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Music
For a photographic documentation of Vienna Actionism, the composer KarlheinzEssl jun. has created the generative sound installation nature / morte which can be enjoyed in the Rotunda.
Art communication programme
The exhibition will be complemented by a comprehensive art communication and education programme with guided tours and workshops for all age groups.The art education team of The Essl Collection will publish a 64 pages strong brochure with 50 painting critiques. The brochure will be available at the Collection’s bookshop at the price of EUR 9.90.
Catalogue
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AUSTRIA: 1900 –
2000 / CONFRONTATIONS AND CONTINUITIES
The exhibition will be completed by a 480 pages strong catalogue
in German and Edition Sammlung Essl Privatstiftung: Klosterneuburg 2005 |
Press contact:
Nikola Winkler02243 - 370 50 52 , winkler@sammlung-essl.at
www.sammlung-essl.at – for Download
Partners of The Essl Collection:
bauMax, Die Presse, Donau Versicherung, Ö1, Telekom Austria
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ELKE KRYSTUFEK Blue Boy (2005) Acryl auf Leinwand, 100 x 100 cm © Sammlung Essl Privatstiftung |
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HERMANN NITSCH 1. Aktion, Wien (1962) s/w Fotografie aus einer 3-teiligen Serie Fotodokumentation: Niederbacher 50 x 60 cm © VBK, Wien, 2006 |
Press release
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AUSTRIA:
1900 – 2000 / CONFRONTATIONS AND CONTINUITIES press information in PDF format |
