Curator: Hubert Scheibl
Exhibition organisation: Daniela Balogh, Andreas Hoffer

With an exhibition in the central hall and Rotunda, involving 8 large-format canvases, more than 50 works on paper and several sculptures, the Essl Museum offers an insight into the work of Hubert Scheibl. Born 1952 in Gmunden in Upper Austria, the artist, who is one of the main representatives of “New Painting”, is represented in the Essl Collection with more than 40 works from three decades. While his output was still characterised by a more monochrome mood in the 1980s and ‘90s, his current paintings are resplendent with a mysterious and poetic colour palette. Scheibl’s virtuoso painting style demonstrates how much potential for development this medium harbours at the onset of the 3rd millennium. Scheibl’s monumental canvases evoke storm-ridden seas, glacial icescapes and enchanted mists dissolving in the light of the rising sun. The paintings of Hubert Scheibl invite viewers to admire them in contemplation and enjoy an extraordinary viewing experience.

“Alles läuft nach Wunsch” (2001: Odyssee im Weltraum), 2009 Oil on canvas Photo: Mischa Nawrata, Wien © Hubert Scheibl	“Sagen Sie's” (No Country for Old Men), 2008 Oil on canvas 450 x 350 cm Photo: Mischa Nawrata, Wien © Hubert Scheibl

Whereas the monumental paintings convey a feeling of lofty grandeur, the witty and thoughtful sculptures conjure up a different mood. In an installation involving a skeletal crocodile’s head with a binary number code, Scheibl explores the question as to what will remain of human beings in the face of existential threats, once morals, ethical behaviour and, finally, humanism, have disappeared. Created specifically for this exhibition, an installation with 50, partly large-format, works on paper illustrates the unique graphic oeuvre of the artist. Unlike the paintings, the scriptural and filigree drawings also include elements of figuration.

The exhibition was designed in collaboration with the artist. Some of the works, like the installation in the Rotunda, were created specifically for the Essl Museum. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue in German and English, which will not only include the works exhibited, but also a selection of the artist’s works to be found in the Essl Collection.

Catalogue

An exhibition catalogue of approximately 160 pages will be published with a preface by Prof. Karlheinz Essl, texts by Florian Steininger and Lóránd Hegyi and an interview with Hubert Scheibl.

Educational program

The art education team offers guided tours and workshops during the exhibition, e.g. the guided tour >Fat Ducks< every Sunday at 1 p.m. Please access the current calendar of events at KUNSTVERMITTLUNG >>.

Free bus shuttle

Visitors can reach the Essl Museum conveniently by free bus shuttle from Vienna city centre, Albertinaplatz 2 (Tues – Sun, 10 a.m., 12 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and return)

Press and Public Relations Office:

Nina Auinger (head): +43 (0) 2243/370 50 60, auinger@essl.museum
Regina Holler-Strobl: +43 (0) 2243/370 50 62, holler-strobl@essl.museum