Austria's "Avant-garde and Contemporary" at the Belvedere

In the years after 1945, the art scene in Austria faces a new beginning after the devastating years of National Socialism. Artists (re)establish international contacts, search for a new artistic language for Austria in the currents of modernism and the post-war period. The Museum Belvedere shows these developments up to contemporary art with works from its own collection.

The exhibition, curated by Luisa Ziaja, strives for an accessible presentation of the most important tendencies of an era marked by experimentation and artistic diversity. However, it does not limit itself with a documentary presentation, but asks the questions of how exactly the artworks of these years are to be understood as the basis of the positions of current artists and where there are conscious demarcations. In addition to the major developments, the exhibition also shows connections that have been illuminated for the first time and is therefore not only a good introduction to the subject, but also has something new to offer the pre-educated public.

From Maria Lassnig and Friedensreich Hundertwasser to Ashley Hans Scheirl and Jakob Lena Knebl, as well as many other Austrian artists, works are brought into a substantial dialogue that is appropriately presented in a lively manner through archive and audio material.