Exhibition
Rendezvouz. Masterpieces from the Essl Collection
19 Feb 2016 – 30 Jun 2016
Essl Museum. Kunst der Gegenwart
Vienna, Austria
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Rudolf Schwarzkogler, photo: Ludwig Hoffenreich, from the session 4 Aktionen Wien-1965/66 2. Aktion O.T., summer 1965, b/w photography, 40 x 30 cm, © inheritance of the artist, photo: Stefan Fiedler – Salon Iris, Vienna
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Elke Krystufek, Imaginary, 2001, acrylic on canvas, 129,5 x 170 cm, © Sammlung Essl, photo: Mischa Nawrata, Vienna
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Patrícia Jagicza, Estrella, 2010, oil on canvas, 150 x 180 cm, © Sammlung Essl Privatstiftung, from the archive of the artist
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Marcin Maciejowski, Benehmen wir uns normal (ZACHOWUJMY SIE NORMALNIE), 2003, oil on canvas, 130 x 143 cm, © Marcin Maciejowski, photo: courtesy Galerie Meyer Kainer, Vienna
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Maria Lassnig, Ideenfischer, 2001, oil on canvas, 203 x 150 cm, © Sammlung Essl, photo: Franz Schachinger, Vienna
Exhibition
Body & Soul
6 Apr 2016 – 30 Jun 2016
Address
- An der Donau-Au 1
- Vienna
Lower Austria - 3400
- Austria
Event map
"The body is a visible translation of the soul" (Christian Morgenstern). Different positions on questions of the body.
About
What attitude do we take today vis-à-vis our body and sexuality? In the 20th century, Western society revolutionised and redefined its relationship with the body, but also brought problematic aspects to light. Artists reflected these developments, of course, particularly after 1945. Post-war Austria saw the head-on confrontation between hypocritical sexual morals and far-reaching denial and sub-culture avant-gardes striving to overcome these obstacles. Vienna Actionism, a movement that produced art which still has the power to shock, is now considered one of the most significant achievements of Austrian art. Body & Soul is devoted to a subject widely represented in the Essl Collection, the human body in all its facets. The exhibition places the topic in a wider social context and traces its evolution up to the present. The human body may serve as platform for the expression of inner states and feelings, as exemplified by Maria Lassnig’s body awarenes paintings; it can be a metaphor for metaphysical notions, or, as in Marc Quinn’s sculpture Allison Lapper, it may celebrate beauty beyond social norms.
