Libidinally charged works of the last 3 decades by Herbert Brandl are presented by Florian Steininger and Ingried Brugger in the Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien. CastYourArt visited the artist at his atelier and produced an artist-portrait. Watch now …

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The images constantly seduce the gaze, captivate it and invite the viewer to transcend the pictorial surface, look behind it in order to discover the spaces opening up within their –our- interior.
Brandl does not start his work on the basis of reality in order to abstract from it, he rather develops a pictorial grammar of perception –feelings or thoughts- and avails himself of the musical vocabulary of colour and of the personal expressive panache as trademark. more »

The building of the Vienna Secession is regarded as the structural manifestation of the ideas of artist union around Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Carl Moll and others who refused the conservative artistic spirit of the Vienna Künstlerhaus. A feature about this historical and contemporary venue of the arts.

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Today the Vienna Secession, the union of Austrian artists, is the oldest independent exhibition centre dedicated to contemporary art worldwide. The building designed by the architect Joseph Maria Olbrich is regarded as the structural manifestation of the ideas of this artist’s union around Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Carl Moll, Josef Hoffmann, Olbrich and others, whose members refused the conservative approach to art of the Künstlerhaus association at the turn of the century.
To confront the fin de siècle with a holistic art whose vitality would have its effect down to the ordinary everyday life! By means of the Secession building, this claim would obtain an actual location, in order to present art in a space-oriented and comprehensive way, within a synthesis of architecture, painting, sculpture, graphic art and decoration. The artistic approach with the building as its symbol still draws attention and now as then, the usage of the building causes excitement.
On of the most celebrated exhibitions was dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven in 1902, a main work of which being the Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt. On this 34-meter mural painting, the artist focused on Beethoven’s 9th symphony. The painting addresses mankind’s pursuit of happiness in various stages. Because of its explicit eroticism, Klimt’s work provoked admiration as well as severe criticism. At the time the Beethoven Frieze was situated in the left side aisle of the Secession’s main hall and was eventually removed in 1903. Today it is back in the Secession and installed in a specifically created room in the basement floor of the building.
With its spatial arrangement, the architecture of the Vienna Secession has remained relevant in our time. Its functionality and aesthetic peculiarity therefore offer ideal conditions for contemporary arts and exhibition activities. Thus, in accordance with the phrase carved above its entrance, to every age its art and to art its freedom, today the Vienna Secession accomplishes an internationally oriented program, presenting current artistic forms of expression in single and thematic exhibitions.
CastYourArt has created a feature about this historical and contemporary venue of the arts, giving an insight into the building, its architecture and history as well as its activities in contemporary art. (wh)

On the occasion of the “Botero” exhibition in the Bank Austria Kunstforum, curator Dr. Evelyn benesch will speak about the artist’s Abu Ghraib series.

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In the years 2004-2005, Columbian painter Fernando Botero worked on a series of paintings named Abu Ghraib. Ever since the photographs of the Abu Ghraib prison were published in 2004, this name came to symbolize a policy that endorses abuse and torture in the name of justice. The hypocrisies around the events in Abu Ghraib prompted the artist to paint this cycle. US museums simply disregarded these works during Botero exhibitions. When liberal Berkeley University finally showed this cycle, Botero donated the entire series to the university in gratitude. In the exhibition “Botero”, in Bank Austria Kunstforum, “Abu Ghraib”, the outraged artist’s cycle on human brutality, will be on display until January 15, 2012. (wh/ca)

Fernando Botero: „In my paintings, there are improbable, not impossible things. “Fernando Boteros work is on view at Bank Austria Kunstforum in Vienna. An artist- and exhibition-portrait.

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“When you start a painting, it is outside of you. By the time you finish, you are already inhabiting it.”

The history of art belongs to those who have learned to see differently; those who have made visible what is hidden. The artist envisages the object, and presents it in a form which allows for immediate recognition of the message. The energy and emotion that flow into the picture become an intuitive experience, as occurs with the erotic friction between reality and art in Fernando Botero’s oeuvre. more »

“I felt a tender love towards all classical architecture, but a the same time dreamt of loving contemporary architecture as well”. A portrait of Alexander Brodsky.

Until October 2011, in its ongoing exhibition, the Architekturzentrum Wien displays works and a room-sized installation of the Russian artist and architect Alexander Brodsky.

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At the beginning of his career, Alexander Brodsky is part of the “paper-architecture“ movement even though at that point, at the beginning of the eighties, there is no movement in the true sense yet. The notion “paper-architecture” rather expresses a typical limitation to architectural creativity in the Soviet Union of the time: Young architects who would refuse to fit in with the established architecture system would have no means to carry out their projects, and therefore design only for presentation or indeed just for the paper. more »

Rather than expressing something directly, the force of artistic expressivity lies within manifesting the getting-to-talk within the work itself.

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„I will now reveal the secret: I am talking about an important artist“ (Christian Ludwig Attersee)

Random. Clean Cuts. The works of the new series by the artist Alexander Steinwendtner contain an essential and fascinating quality of human endeavour, referred to as making art: precise artistic expression arises stems from an artistic attunement, not quite definable and therefore not attainable in an exact manner.

In other words, the artist is able to specify what falls to him and that art is not simply mastered, but in fact created. Quality, says Alexander Steinwendtner, arises from a time that he is somewhat unable to define. Therefore the artistic agenda is to venture into the undefined, in order to reach the concept. more »

Between mythical creatures and human forms, between dream and nightmare, we find ourselves in a world where life crawls and insects swarm: Welcome to the land of the Blue Hour. A selection of works by Jan Fabre in the Picture Gallery of Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna can be seen from 4 May till 28 August 2011. This podcast was realised with the kind support of UNIQUA ArtCercles.

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Interview with Jasper Sharp, the curator of “The Hour Blue” exhibition of Jan Fabre at Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

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Jan Fabre is an artist we can safely describe as a multidisciplinary all-rounder. He is a painter, graphic artist, stage director, choreographer, lighting designer, author and editor – drawing from all fields of creativity: Arts, sciences, philosophy, literature, religion…nothing escapes him. more »

For the seventh time, Viennafair takes place from May 12th to May 15th, with a focus on Central and Eastern European art. We spoke with Georg Schöllhammer and Hedwig Saxenhuber, the artistic directors of the fair.
Viennafair 2011 - Trailer

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Interview with G. Schöllhammer and H. Saxenhuber, the artistic directors of the fair

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With 47 registrations from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe this CEE´s focus is the largest so far in the history of the “VIENNAFAIR”, including this year such significant positions as the Riga Gallery from Latvia, Plan B and Ivan from Romania, lokal_30 from Poland or Tulips and Roses from Lithuania as well as Skuc and P.A.R.A.S.I.T.E from Slovenia. With Gisich from St. Petersburg,GMG and paperworks from Moscow, the Russian scene shows again a strong presence in Vienna after a long while. With a total of five galleries, amongst these acb and Raday, Hungary is again strongly represented as in previous years. New this year are the Newman Popiashvili Gallery from Georgia and Tengri Umai Gallery from Kazakhstan. Also for the first time in Vienna (present with artists- streichen weil eh klar) are the Jiri Svestka Gallery from Prague, Art Radionica Lazareti and Contemporary Croatian Photography from Croatia.

From March 31 to April 3, 2011 – Under the direction of the international event promoter – Johnessco Rodriguez - The Grimaldi Forum will be transformed once again in 4000 square meters art gallery for Art Monaco’11. Monaco will serve as host to more than 60 exclusive galleries from around the globe. Galleries will showcase and sell their original creations during the four-day festival. A VIP reception on March 31st will kick off the event, followed by three full days of vernisage-style exhibits open to the public.

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We are going to present our international video and audio productions as well as artworks of the austrian artist Helmut Grill. We would be happy to welcome you at our booth at ArtMonaco11 end of march and … take a look at the videoportrait of Helmut Grill right now. (wh)

It is almost impossible to breathe and move within the linguistical system in which we are embedded. Art brings new movement into our consciousness. An artist portrait ofInci Eviner.

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Inci Eviner, born 1956 in Polatli, to the southwest of Ankara, completed her artistic education at the national academy of fine arts and the Mimar Sinan University. Inci Eviner’s international career took off in the mid-1990ies. In individual exhibitions and during residencies her work was displayed in Paris, New York, Rotterdam, Bellagio and Tokyo, by reputed galleries and institutions, furthermore she participated in numerous group exhibitions around the globe. Currently the artist resides and works in Istanbul, where she holds a professorship for combined art at the Yildiz University. more »