He has embraced tradition in order to „forget it again“: wood as a challenge and possibility of failure. An artist-portrait of the sculptor Aron Demetz. Works of the artist, who joined the Venice Biennale 2009 are on view at CastYourArt (Gumpendorfer Straße 55, 1060 Vienna) from November 18 2011 till February 3 2012 at the exhibition “La Natura Umana”.

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Aron Demetz eliminates the classical dichotomy of „original vs. effigy”, and instead addresses an interaction: man has a position in the natural space that surrounds him, is formed by it and in turn has an effect on it; this is not a static interaction but rather a continuous, living process. Man and his body become protagonist and theatre of the action at the same time, within the relationship between the single object and its location within space. Demetz’ examination of space demonstrates that the figures enter into a dialogue about the possibilities of the location with the viewer. more »

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 »

On the occasion of his exhibition “İz” in Istanbul starting on 12 October 2011 6.30 pm at
Artgalerim Nişantaşı we replay from our archives the artist portrait of Cemal Gürsel Soyel.

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CastYourArt visited the Cyprus-born painter, Cemal Gürsel Soyel, in Vienna, and accompanied him on his way to his studio. The resulting podcast shows more than just the streets of Vienna. The walk we take with him leads us down the path of the artist to his painting – both in a literal and a pleasantly ironic sense. (written by Wolfgang Haas / translated by Janima Nam)

Together with Maria Lassnig he is considered the originator of Informal Art in Austria. His works are on display in the key museums all over the world. An artist’s portrait of Arnulf Rainer. This podcast was realised with the kind support of UNIQUA ArtCercles.

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He visited André Breton, the writer and theoretical head of surrealism in Paris – this was the moment he turned away from surrealism. Together with Maria Lassnig, he is considered the originator of informal painting in Austria, his works are on display in the main museums on the entire globe. The road to success has at times been stony, tells Rainer, whose first solo exhibition took place in the St. Stephan gallery of Monsignore Otto Mauer in 1955. The beginning of his overpaintings for instance were not based upon any philosophical concepts, but were simply a consequence of his lack of money to buy new canvasses. Instead, the artist resorted to painted canvasses - pictures from the flea market. They were cheaper to buy. more »

From July 23rd until October 30th 2011, the Museum der Moderne Salzburg displays works about artistic self-representation in the exhibition “role models – role playing”. On the occasion, CastYourart produced the short film EVA & ADELE about(on, over) SALZBURG with the artist duo EVA & ADELE. The film will be on display in the exhibition, we have put a sample online for you.

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Role models – role playing

The masquerade and its staging are a challenge for the protagonists. However, since long ago performance has not been limited to the stage and spotlight anymore. It has freed itself from the narrowness of the theatres, playhouses, cinemas, television shows and magazines and has stepped out into real life. In the course this liberation, acting has been transformed into role playing. Its protagonists are we. 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 »

Polanszky shows that perceptions do not simply happen within us, but in fact are performed by us – producing reciprocal dynamics. Rudolf Polanszky is an artist of Gallery Konzett, Vienna.

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“The human being forgets that it was him who produced the images in order to use them to find his bearings. He is unable to decipher them anymore and from then on lives in function of his own images: imagination has turned into hallucination.” (Vilem Flusser)

Polanszky’s works resemble a language und avail themselves of a sequence or composition of signs and symbols, but without directly reverting to concepts and without giving a direction to the relationship between cause and effect, leaving open which one is cause and which one effect. Reality as a principle is replaced by the performance of reality, including our capacities and mechanisms of representation and interpretation. 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 »