Party in Vienna

"Following 15 years of planning and construction, the ambitious project MuseumsQuartier, a new museum quarter in Vienna, is nearing completion. The beginning of June saw the opening of the Vienna Kunst-halle, which has moved into the neighborhood from its former home in the White Cube on Karlsplatz. The building that had been home to the Kunsthalle since 1992 will be reconstructed, wrapped in glass and from January 2002 will serve as the Kunsthalle’s “project space.”
The Kunsthalle’s premier hall held its first exhibition, A Baroque Party, which presented the Chapman brot-hers, Wim Delvoye, Ulrike Gros-sarth, Yvonne Rainer, Sam Taylor-Wood and Paul Thek. The theme reflects the ubiquity of the Baroque in Vienna and suggests that the Kunsthalle, a house for contemporary art, is trying to find a way to deal with its new location among the museums of tobacco and natural beauty. Curators Sabine Folie and Mi-chael Glasmeier say that the exhibiting artists “throw a bridge between Baroque ideas and concepts and art-making positions of today.” They intend to prove that the 17th century has not only outlived historical facades but that it plays a significant role in contemporary art. The Chapman brothers, like the Baroque artists, capture the horror of life on earth; Wim Delvoye deals with the idea of a human body as a machine; Paul Thek focuses on rites of passage and ritual, and Sam Taylor-Wood plays out allegorical stories in the form of panoramic rooms. Accompanying the exhibition are a number of events, the biggest of which will come reeling out on June 30 under the title “Party Baroque” — a house party in Kunsthalle’s E and G blocks as part of the Europride 2001 campaign. A Baroque Party will be open until September 16.
Shortly before the official opening of the Kunsthalle, an exhibition of Steve McQueen’s film projects opened: It will be on until August 19. The fall program will include the exhibitions Flash Afrique (from September 7), Televisions (from October 12), and Ro-bert Adrian X (from November 30).

Vladan Šír
"

01.02.2001