Aligned with the release of our new film series journey on the BMW Art Guide website, this week we are giving focus to the stunning and sustainable Museum Liaunig, visited for the eighth film series instalment. The minimalistic museum building resides both under and on top of Austria’s southern Carinthian landscape, here above the river Drava.

The main exhibition o. T. (short for “ohne Titel” and means “untitled”) currently on view at the Museum Liaunig, curated by Dieter Bogner, emphasises the themes of geometries, systems and concepts – showing the wide range of artistic positions from Austria over a timespan of seven decades.

The exhibition presents a selection of painterly, sculptural, kinetic, digital and acoustic works of art, which are characterised by an approach to elementary forms, clear colours, simple objects or primary materials based on free composition, systematic rules and conceptual development.

The works are primarily from the Liaunig Collection, supplemented with loans from artists, museums and private collections. Covering the period from 1950 to the present, the exhibition offers the first comprehensive insight into the diverse artistic concepts of elementary art in Austria, both historically – spanning 70 years – and in terms of the variety of media.

What distinguishes the Liaunig Collection, and thus the o. T. exhibition, are the number of large sculptures and objects from all periods. The various possible combinations of two- and three dimensional artworks from throughout the decades is of great importance for understanding the art scene from the 1950s to the present. The integration of selected analogue, digital and acoustic works, which often receive far too little attention, further contributes to a broader understanding.

In the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, Dieter Bogner explains: Giving the exhibition a placeholder title like “o. T.” requires justification. It is a common term for works of modern and contemporary art, used when artists do not wish to give a title to the work. The viewer’s attention should be directed purely to the work in question. This invitation to view the work without influence of any reference to orientation, is the primary reason for calling the exhibition “o. T.”. The second reason for this decision lies in the difficulty of making a justifiable decision for an “umbrella brand” relevant to the entirety of the works shown in the exhibition from the multitude of terms that have been applied to the phenomena of elementary practice for almost a century, some of which are still in use today.

The large exhibition with the title o. T., which seeks to provide the impetus for a holistic reconsideration of seven decades of elementary and conceptual art in Austria, presents one hundred and forty seven works produced by seventy six artists: Marc Adrian, Josef Bauer, Hans Bischoffshausen, Anna-Maria Bogner, Hellmut Bruch, Friedrich Cerha, Waltraut Cooper, Josef Dabernig, Inge Dick, Heinrich Dunst, Manfred Erjautz, Wolfgang Ernst, Gottfried Fabian, Hans Florey, Gerhard Frömel, Johann Fruhmann, Heinz Gappmayr, Jakob Gasteiger, Tibor Gáyor, Roland Goeschl, Dorothee Golz, GRAF+ZYX, Hans Grosch, Karl Hikade, Kurt Ingerl, H+H Joos, Gerhard Kaiser, Walter Kaitna, Thomas Kaminsky, Michael Kienzer, Edgar Knoop, Peter Kogler, Willi Kopf, Kurt Kren, Eric Kressnig, Richard Kriesche, Hans Kupelwieser, Maria Lassnig, Bernhard Leitner, František Lesák, Helmut Mark, Dóra Maurer, János Megyik, Josef Mikl, Melitta Moschik, Gerhardt Moswitzer, Walter Obholzer, Hermann J. Painitz, Florentina Pakosta, Fritz Panzer, Ferdinand Penker, Hubert Pfaffenbichler, Helga Philipp, Franz Pichler, Josef Pillhofer, Markus Prachensky, Karl Prantl, Oskar Putz, Arnulf Rainer, Gerwald Rockenschaub, Georg Salner, Peter Sandbichler, Eva Schlegel, Günther Selichar, Rudi Stanzel, Oswald Stimm, Esther Stocker, Erwin Thorn, Jorrit Tornquist, Markus Wilfling, Fritz Wotruba, Heimo Zobernig and Leo Zogmayer.

In this Online Exhibition we feature exhibition images of o. T. (untitled) as well as from > CAROUSSEL < in the Sculpture Depot with Robert Schad, as supplementary visual material.

Sculpture Depot

The Museum Liaunig is featured in the BMW ART GUIDE by INDEPENDENT COLLECTORS.