Opening: 19/02/2009, 7.30 p.m. together with the exhibition >ALFONS SCHILLING < at 7.00 p.m.
Curator: Prof. Karlheinz Essl
Organisation: Andreas Hoffer

What’s new at Sammlung Essl? The collection of international contemporary art acquired by Agnes und Karlheinz Essl has been steadily growing in recent years.

With more than 6.000 works of art it offers a panoramic view of contemporary art matchless in Austria. As many of the new acquisitions of the last two years have not yet been presented to the general public, the art collector is pleased to be able to grant the interested public a glance on new paintings, photographs and videos by international artists in the Large Hall. The collection’s long-standing focus on Austrian art is continued with new works by Arnulf Rainer and Gudrun Kampl, while US American art is represented by works by John Baldessari and Philip Taaffe.

JOHN BALDESSARI Arms & Legs (Specif. Elbows and Knees), etc.: Knees (with Nose), 2007 Mischtechnik, 150 x 196 cm © John Baldessari, courtesy Essl Museum	YASUMASA MORIMURA A Requiem: Dream of Universe/ALBERT 2, 2007 Gelatin Silver Print, 120 x 96 cm © Yasumasa Morimura, courtesy Essl Museum

There are also new fields opening up in the collection, such as young Danish art. The fantastic paintings by Kathrine Ærtebjerg and the quirky pictorial worlds of Peter Land offer an insight into this scene. Works by Esther Stocker, Fischli/Weiss, Lisa Ruyter and Marcin Maciejowski complete the show.

YASUMASA MORIMURA A Requiem: Where is the Dictator 1, 2007 Gelatin Silver Print 150 x 120 cm © Yasumasa Morimura, courtesy Essl Museum	ARNULF RAINER Aus der Fotoserie "Diven", 2007/2008 Fine Art Print 104 x 79,5 cm © Arnulf Rainer

The Essl Museum’s “Rotunda” is the venue for a spectacular series of photographs and videos by the Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura. In his works, the artist impersonates famous people from the 20th century, among them Che Guevara, Albert Einstein, Mao Zedong, or Charlie Chaplin’s Great Dictator (Adolf Hitler). He invests a great deal of time and effort in re-staging the “photographic icons” of the last century.

KATHRINE AERTEBJERG A late summerday, 2006 Oil on canvas, 205 x 200 cm © VBK, Wien, 2009	ESTHER STOCKER O.T., 2008 acrylic on canvas, 140 x 160 cm © Sammlung Essl Privatstiftung, courtesy Galerie Krobath Wimmer, Vienna, Esther Stocker

Art education

The art education team offers guided tours and workshops on the exhibition, the >BRANDNEW< guided tour takes place every Sunday at 3 p.m. For further specials please refer to the >Kunstvermittlungs< monthly calendar on www.essl.museum / Art education

Free Bus shuttle

The Essl Museum can be easily reached with a free Busshuttle, from Vienna City Center,
Albertinaplatz 2 (Tues – Sun, 10 a.m., 12 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m.)

Partners of the Museum

bauMax AG / Café + Co International Holding / Donau Versicherungs-AG – Vienna Insurance Group / Siemens AG Österreich / Telekom Austria AG

Mediapartner

Die Presse / Ö1