"Alpine Desire" Exhibition
Austrian Cultural Forum NYC
This event has ended.
The exhibition dialectically examines the various desires associated with and the abysses hiding behind the cultural-historical subject of the Alps. It juxtaposes art-historical icons of 19th century Romanticism and early 20th century paintings with contemporary art from Austria and the United States. The mountains are traditionally considered places with mythical powers superior to humanity. Historically, representation has focused on their sublime and pristine nature. However, beginning with industrialization in the 19th century, artists also depicted the uses and abuses man inflicted on nature. While early 20th century artists still celebrate and represent the majesty of mountains – albeit with an expressionist and transformational visual language – contemporary artists expanded their interests to social and political issues. Still inspired by nature itself, they also look at the manifold, sometimes problematic realities behind the visual. Many question both the historical but also the contemporary mechanisms of representation. Sometimes beauty and horror can exist side by side, and the sublime can conceal nightmares.
[Image: Top: Koloman Moser "Berggipfel mit farbigen Wolken" 1913 Oil on canvas.
Bottom: Hans Schabus "Das letzte Land" 2005 Box, model.]
Media
Schedule
from January 27, 2011 to May 08, 2011
Opening Reception on 2011-01-26 from 18:00 to 21:00
The opening will be preceded by an artist talk from 5pm to 6pm (reservations required for the talk)
Artist(s)
Herbert BOECKL, Herbert BRANDL, Adam CVIJANOVIC, Thomas ENDER, GELITIN, Antony GORMLEY, Ellen HARVEY, Michael HOEPFNER, Richard JOCHUM, Laura MCPHEE, Koloman MOSER, Christian Philipp MÜLLER, Walter NIEDERMAYR, Lois RENNER, Ed RUSCHA, Gregor SAILER, Michaela SCHWENTNER, Hans SCHABUS, Margherita SPILUTTINI, James Everett STUART, Ferdinand Georg WALDMÜLLER