Deseando lo real
Desiring the Real. Austria Contemporary consists of 22 works of Austrian artists who introduce the notion of the real in the center of their practice and to explore different models of representation. It shows reality as a subjective experience, as staging and also as a means of finding solutions and alternative spaces opposed to conventional conceptions of "the real".
"The only thing a work of art can do is to awaken the desire for an alternate state of the world. And this longing is revolutionary "
Heiner Müller
The aesthetic productions are often closely linked to events in the political arena. It can be said that by addressing the social condition of the human being, all art takes on a political status: "art is always political, if you want it to be art" (Jacques Rancière). The artists in this exhibition put us in close contact to key issues in the Central European society, as well as gender politics. These artists have the ability to challenge the seductive force of power, shaping the identities of their culture under a new critical point of view. Questions raise the relationship between art and political reality with the intention to "drill and enlarge the blocked space of social action" (Hannes Zebedin). Individual perspectives, as reflected in the photographic, painting, film or sculpture exhibition, present a distinctive look on the Austrian society.
Artists: Iris Andraschek (Austria, 1963), Adriana Czernin (Bulgary, 1969), Judith Fegerl (Austria, 1977), Michael Goldgruber (Austria, 1965), Maria Hahnenkamp (Austria 1959), Michael Höpfner (Austria, 1972), Franz Kapfer (Austria, 1971), Ulrike Königshofer (Austria, 1981), Bele Marx (Austria, 1968), David Moises (Austria, 1973) en colaboración con Chris Janka (Austria, 1972), Margherita Spiluttini (Austria, 1947), Hannes Zebedin (Austria, 1976), Catrin Bolt (Austria, 1979), Josef Dabernig (Austria, 1956), Rainer Gamsjäger (Austria, 1974), Nilbar Güres (Turkey, 1977), Siggi Hofer (Italy, 1970), Leopold Kessler (Germany, 1976), Hubert Lobnig (Austria, 1962), Anna Mitterer (Austria, 1980), Bernd Oppl( Austria, 1980), Esther Stocker (Italy, 1974)
Curator: Karin Zimmer
Associate curator: Alejandra Labastida
Desiring the Real. Austria Contemporary was commissioned by the Directorate General for International and Religious Affairs within the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture. The exhibition presents the works of 22 artists which have been acquired in recent years by the Ministry, complemented by art loans.
