AUSTRIA conTEMPORARY

The >emerging artists< series, which has been organised at the Essl Museum since 2000, presents artists and places that have not yet established a strong presence on the art market, but have the potential to make a great impact in years to come. To date, the series has provided 140 artists with a public platform, thus considerably supporting them in embarking on their careers.

Early in 2008, artists living and working in Austria were invited to apply for >AUSTRIA conTEMPORARY<, the only criterion being that the main focus of their creative work had to be in Austria. They did not have to be Austrian nationals. Austria is currently a very attractive place for young, talented artists and the response to the invitation to present applications has been overwhelming: more than 1000 artists from all over Austria have submitted.

The selection process involved several steps: on the basis of the written applications the curators pre-selected 110 artists. In a second step the shortlist was reduced to 50, and the curators went to meet the artists in their studios. The decision was not based on any predefined criteria or themes, and there was no preferred medium the curators were looking for a final selection of 16 strong and convincing artistic stances. The following artists will participate in the >AUSTRIA conTEMPORARY< exhibition:

Markus Bacher: painting
Miriam Bajtala: drawings, video
Andrea Danner: drawings
Daniel Domig: painting, sculpture
Michael Goldgruber: painting, photography, video, installation
Barbara Husar: video, drawings, installation
Wolfgang Lehrner: video
Michail Michailov: video, photography
Virgilius Moldovan: sculpture
Barbara Musil: video
Karin Maria Pfeifer: painting, photography
Ingrid Pröller: painting
Patricia Reinhart: video, painting
Johanna Tinzl / Stefan Flunger: video, installation
Barbara Vögel: collage
Clemens Wolf: painting

>AUSTRIA conTEMPORARY< includes all central media of contemporary art, with painting and video most prominent among them. Many of the participating artists are working in several media, and the exhibition provides a good insight into the way they explore and play with the different materials and techniques. >emerging artists< always makes a point of inviting artists of all age groups to apply. The fact that this concept has been greatly welcomed by the applicants is reflected in the final selection: this time, the youngest artist is 25 years old, the oldest 53, their artistic output ranging from emotional and subjective approaches to formal-aesthetic expression or socio-critical stances.

The Essl Museum considers this exhibition series as a contribution to the direct support
of artists: a professional exhibition in a museum context and a 184-pages strong catalogue are designed to support emerging artists in their career.

Project partner of the >emerging artist< series is the Deutsche Bank Foundation.

Markus Bacher1 / 6

Miriam Bajtala2 / 6

Daniel Domig3 / 6

Michail Michailov4 / 6

Virgilius Moldovan5 / 6

Johanna Tinzl / Stefan Fluger6 / 6

Bookshop

Austria Contemporary

German and English. 184 pages with numerous color images.
With articles by Karlheinz Essl, Günther Oberhollenzer amongst others.

Edition Sammlung Essl Privatstiftung: Klosterneuburg 2008
ISBN: 978-3-902001-47-4