Vienna, ALBERTINA: Adrian Ghenie after Egon Schiele

Shadow Paintings: Lost paintings in a new incarnation

Inspired by Egon Schiele's lost works: Adrian Ghenie paints his versions of artworks known only through black and white photographs. The exhibition Adrian Ghenie. Schattenbilder (Shadow Paintings) opens on October 11 at the ALBERTINA in Vienna.

October 11, 2024
Egon Schiele, Auferstehung | Aus: Albert Paris Gütersloh, Egon Schiele. Versuch einer Vorrede, Wien, 1911
Foto © Kallir Research Institute
Egon Schiele, Auferstehung | Aus: Albert Paris Gütersloh, Egon Schiele. Versuch einer Vorrede, Wien, 1911

Around a quarter of Egon Schiele's (1890-1918) paintings are still untraceable or have been destroyed. The circumstances of their disappearance are unknown in most cases, and the works themselves have only survived in black and white photographs. Based on an idea by Ciprian Adrian Barsan, one of the co-curators of the exhibition, the Romanian artist Adrian Ghenie (*1977) was inspired by the photographs to create new paintings. »Together with Schiele, I share an interest in the deformation and stretching of the human form and playful experimentation with it. Deformation was a solution for representation, but also an expression of the freedom that came with modernism. Once you leave the traditional constraints of anatomy behind, the way you deform can become a portrait of character or the inner psyche on a deeper level«, the artist explains the project, which can be seen in the exhibition Adrian Ghenie. Schattenbilder (Shadow Paintings) exhibition. The show runs from October 11, 2024 to February 9, 2025 at the ALBERTINA Museum in Vienna.

Adrian Ghenie does not create his paintings with traditional tools such as brushes, but uses stencils and painting knives. His works straddle the boundary between reality and abstraction and explore how people construct reality around themselves, sometimes unconsciously. The events of the chaotic and revolutionary 20th century are Ghenie's source of inspiration; he describes it as the »century of humiliation«. Ghenie's paintings can be found in many renowned museum collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst in Ghent, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.Art.Salon

Adrian Ghenie, Auferstehung 1, 2024
©️ Adrian Ghenie, Foto © Infinitart Foundation
Adrian Ghenie, Auferstehung 1, 2024, 191 x 200 cm, Öl auf Leinwand

Recent auction results of Adrian Ghenie

Adrian Ghenie - If You Open It You Get Dirty
Auction
Post-War to Present
June 2024
Christies, London
Est.: 20.000 - 30.000 GBP
Realised: not available
Details
Adrian Ghenie - The Squat
Auction
20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale
March 2024
Christies, London
Est.: 1.200.000 - 2.000.000 GBP
Realised: 1.008.000 GBP
Details
Adrian Ghenie - Self-Portrait as a Monkey
Auction
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale
March 2024
Phillips, London Auction
Est.: 600.000 - 800.000 GBP
Realised: not available
Details
Adrian Ghenie - Lidless Eye
Auction
Post-Millennium Evening Sale, a Collab with Jay Chou
November 2023
Christies, Hong Kong
Est.: 38.000.000 - 58.000.000 HKD
Realised: 42.725.000 HKD
Details
Adrian Ghenie - Lenin\'s Eyes
Auction
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale
October 2023
Christies, London
Est.: 60.000 - 80.000 GBP
Realised: 50.400 GBP
Details
Adrian Ghenie - The Flight into Egypt I
Auction
LOVE STORIES - from the collection of Anne & Wolfgang Titze
October 2023
Christies, London
Est.: 2.000.000 - 3.000.000 EUR
Realised: 3.670.000 EUR
Details
Adrian Ghenie - Charles Darwin as a Young Man
Auction
LOVE STORIES - from the collection of Anne & Wolfgang Titze
October 2023
Christies, London
Est.: 250.000 - 350.000 EUR
Realised: 403.200 EUR
Details
Adrian Ghenie - Study for \
Auction
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale
June 2023
Christies, London
Est.: 15.000 - 20.000 GBP
Realised: 15.120 GBP
Details
Adrian Ghenie - Sans titre (Autoportrait)
Auction
Art contemporain - Vente du jour
June 2023
Christies, London
Est.: 20.000 - 30.000 EUR
Realised: 18.900 EUR
Details
Adrian Ghenie - Untitled
Auction
Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale
March 2023
Christies, London
Est.: 100.000 - 150.000 GBP
Realised: 163.800 GBP
Details

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