1,000 visitors at the opening "Hans Op de Beeck: The Cliff" at the Kunsthalle Krems

Kunsthalle Krems presents the first solo exhibition by Hans Op de Beeck in Austria.
In the works of Hans Op de Beeck there is always a certain surrealistic eerie undertone - the fragile, the dreamlike and the dark side of reality.Florian Steininger, Artistic Director of the Kunsthalle Krems.
At the Kunsthalle Krems I wanted to create a course with medial different works. Each room is an invitation to use different senses - from animated films to more physical sculptures to large-format watercolors. The context is the staged silence that runs through the entire exhibition. Hans Op de Beeck, artist.
Flemish artist Hans Op de Beeck is currently one of the world's most sought-after multimedia artists. As a Kremserin I am particularly pleased that now in the Kunsthalle Krems his first major solo exhibition in Austria can be seen. With its international program, the Kunsthalle Krems contributes significantly to positioning Lower Austria as a country of art and culture beyond its national borders.Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister, Provincial Councilor representing Landeshauptfrau Johanna Mikl-Leitner.

The Kunsthalle Krems opened the exhibition Hans Op de Beeck: The Cliff on 02.03.2019 with great enthusiasm. Almost 1,000 visitors attended the opening of the first solo exhibition of the acclaimed Belgian multimedia artist in Austria. The Kunstmeile Krems counted with the pre-opening of the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich and the exhibitions in the Cartoon Museum Krems alone on 02.03.2019 a total of more than 5,000 visitors.

Hans Op de Beeck is known for his walk-in sculptural installations in monochrome gray. With 50 exhibitions a year, he is one of the most internationally successful contemporary artists in Belgium. He made specially new works for the Kunsthalle Krems, including the eponymous sculpture 'The Cliff', designed especially for the Central Hall . In Krems he also shows a series of gray sculptures - figures with closed eyes, oversized food and miniatures in wooden chambers, which look petrified. A special focus is on Op de Beeck's film work - seven videos can be seen in the large and small portico - as well as on the black and white watercolours in unusually large landscape format. "In the works of Hans Op de Beeck there is always a certain surrealistic eerie undertone to be felt - the fragile, the dreamlike and the dark side of reality," summarises Kunsthalle director Florian Steininger the peculiarly fascinating atmosphere of the exhibition.

Hans Op de Beeck - sculptor, painter, director, set designer, composer and author in one person - has choreographed the exhibition itself and specifically for the Kunsthalle Krems. The entire exhibition area will be covered - even the walls and floors were dipped into the wondrous world of Hans Op de Beeck. The main work of the exhibition is the more than nine meters long and almost three meters high sculptural installation 'The Cliff', which shows two life-size young people on a rock face. At the Artist Talk during the opening, Hans Op de Beeck explained: "At the Kunsthalle Krems I show for the first time figures with open eyes. The teenagers in The Cliff - the biggest sculpture in the show - are frozen like they are in the moment, just like in a photograph, a snapshot in 3D." And further: "At the Kunsthalle Krems, I wanted to create a course with medially different works. Each room is an invitation to use different senses - from animated films to more physical sculptures to large-format watercolors. The context is the staged silence that runs through the entire exhibition."

The spectacular show, which can be seen until 23.06.2019, awoke great interest already at the opening. Among the guests were David Maenaut , Flemish delegate of the Belgian embassy, ​​and state councilor Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister , Julia Flunger-Schulz , managing director of Kunstmeile Krems, as well as numerous personalities from the arts and culture: the artists Birgit Knoechl , Elke Krystufek , Martha Jungwirth , Eva Schlegel , Erwin Bohatsch , Roman pepper , Florian Raditsch , Robert Schaberl , Christoph Schirmer ,Josef Trattner and Walter Vopava , director Peter Patzak , architect Adolf Krischanitz , former mumok director Edelbert Köb , Christian Bauer , artistic director of the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich, Secession president Herwig Kempinger , Künstlerhaus director Peter Zawrel , gallery owner Ursula Krinzinger , the curators Elsy Lahner (Albertina), Verena Gamper (Leopold Museum) and Luisa Ziaja (Belvedere 21), art historian Rainer Metzger , art critic Nina Schedlmayer , the collectorHelmut Zambo , the cultural manager Tomas Zierhofer-Kin and many more. The music was celebrated by DJ Agathe Bauer, Belgian fries and wine by SALOMON UNDHOF. Provincial Councilor Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister was enthusiastic and opened the exhibition in the presence of provincial governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner: "The Flemish artist Hans Op de Beeck is currently one of the most sought-after multimedia artists in the world. As a Kremserin I am particularly pleased that now in the Kunsthalle Krems his first major solo exhibition in Austria can be seen. With its international program, the Kunsthalle Krems contributes significantly to positioning Lower Austria as a country of art and culture beyond its national borders."