Fascinating exhibits are currently on at museums across Austria. The Austrian Times provides an overview.
“Wintermärchen” (Winter Tales) is an interesting but almost too voluminous collection of paintings documenting the various aspects of the cold period. Works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Jan Asselijn, Edvard Munch and Vincent van Gogh are part of the exhibition which can be visited at Vienna’s Museum of Art (Kunsthistorisches Museum, KHM). Go to www.khm.at for more information.
“Interlacing”, a collection of snapshots and artistic photographs by Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei, is on display at the Kunsthaus (see museum-joanneum.at for opening times and ticket prices) in Graz. The collection features pictures taken with mobile phones as well as Polaroid shots from the 1980s. It presents the sculptor and architect as an photographic artist for the first time.
The Leopold Museum – home of some of the most famous works by Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt – currently features a special exhibition called “Melancholie und Provokation” (Melancholy and Provocation). The exhibition – subtitled “The Egon Schiele Project” – highlights how the masterpieces of the late Austrian artist influenced the work of contemporary artists. Paintings, visual art projects and video installations are part of the interesting but also challenging exhibit which links Schiele with acclaimed artists of the 20th and 21st century. The Leopold Museum (www.leopoldmuseum.org) is located at Vienna’s Museumsquartier (MQ).
Seventy paintings by Fernando Botero are on display at Vienna’s Bank Austria (BA) Kunstforum. Botero was born in 1932. The current exhibition includes pieces of art created by the Colombian artist from the late 1950s until today. The BA Kunstforum gallery – which previously hosted sensational exhibits on African art and the life and work of Frida Kahlo – is situated in the heart of Vienna. For information on ticket prices and opening hours, visit www.bankaustria-kunstforum.at.
