Foreign Affairs

With works by: Marina Abramović, Kader Attia, Atelier Van Lieshout, Monica Bonvicini, Chris Burden, Johanna Calle, Björn Dahlem, Angela de la Cruz, Sakshi Gupta, Secundino Hernández, Waqas Khan, Erik van Lieshout, William Mackrell, Maha Malluh, Jonathan Meese, Hans Op de Beeck, Otto Piene, Erik Schmidt, Mithu Sen, Sudarshan Shetty, Gavin Turk, Jannis Varelas, Mark Wallinger, Zhang Wei und Thomas Zipp

While in the past months the focus of the exhibition has been on Austrian positions, with Foreign Affairs Galerie Krinzinger is now showing a selection of exemplary works by international artists* from the gallery program in the rooms of the Seilerstätte.
In the course of the year, a second part, which is primarily dedicated to younger international positions, will follow.

One of the first pillars of the gallery program was performance and body-related art. The majority of the artists shown refer directly or indirectly to physicality in their work. The gallery has worked with Marina Abramović, a pioneer of performance art, for many years. One of her first performances by Thomas Lips took place in 1975 in the Krinzinger Gallery in Innsbruck. The US performance artist Chris Burden was also closely connected to the gallery. His important work not only helped to define performance, but also sculpture in the 1970s. We find physicality in the sense of a contemplative concentration not only in Marina Abramović, but also in the work of Pakistani artist Waqas Khan. His fragile drawings, composed of thousands of dots and tiny loops, cover paper and canvas like nets. The performance in the sense of a "big picture" and as a bridge between art and life can be found in the 'soldier of art' Jonathan Meese. Jonathan Meese's performances, which are often provocative at first glance, accompany his immense oeuvre of paintings, sculptures and drawings. Erik Schmidt's paintings are largely based on video works in which the artist himself is the protagonist. Jannis Varela's practice jumps playfully from large-format works on paper to sculptures to videos, performances, installations and paintings that overlap. Mark Wallinger's action paintings can be read as the result of a conceptual idea based on the artist's body measurements. Thomas Zipps intensive examination, above all with the institutionalization, find expression through multimedia, including music. Mithu Sen's peerless investigation of language finds expression in the impressive work Un. The body in transformation can be found in the Hybris sculpture by Angela des Cruz. Transformation as a focus in practice can also be found in the works of Sakshi Gupta. Physicality related to expressiveness can be found in the works of paintings by the Spanish artist Secundino Hernandez, which were created using a high-pressure cleaner, or in the expressive oil paintings of Zhang Wei. Otto Piene on the other hand, made fire and smoke his medium in his paintings.

The large neon letters of the work Demo(n)cracy by the Algerian-French artist and curator of the upcoming Berlin Biennale, Kader Attia, light up in the entrance area of the gallery. Since the beginning of his pratice he was interested in socio-cultural phenomena, especially those that arise in connection with and as a result of colonialism. Kader Attia examines these phenomena in a wide variety of disciplines such as psychoanalysis, sociology, architecture and philosophy. Monica Bonvicini examines the relationship between architecture, space, power, gender and male power-mechanisms. In her work she questions the meaning of art production, the ambiguity of language and the limits and possibilities of freedom. Atelier Van Lieshout develops social utopias, while the Riyadh-born artist Maha Malluh subtly deals with acute issues in Saudi Arabia. The Colombian artist Johanna Calle is also concerned with the socio-cultural reality of her home country. Her critical-analytical considerations are translated into the medium of paper. Erik van Lieshout illuminates socio-political issues from a radical personal point of view. The sculptures, installations and watercolors by Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck stimulate our collective memory, dream worlds mix with what is supposedly experienced. Sudarshan Shetty's work Untitled 2018 deals with the human need to remember what is lost. Gavin Turk uses the art of appropriation, among other things, as a means of shaping the multi-layered reception of pop culture into a language of his own. Science and phenomenology find expression in Björn Dahlem's works.