Vienna Media News 12/2020 Major exhibitions in Vienna in 2021

Events may be subject to last-minute additional changes or cancelations due to Covid-19 safety measures. Check www.vienna.info or the organizers’ website for updates

Feb 12-Sep 12, 2021: Christine and Irene Hohenbüchler. CARLONE CONTEMPORARY / Upper Belvedere

In the latest iteration of CARLONE CONTEMPORARY series, the Belvedere will be presenting sculptural objects by Irene and Christine Hohenbüchler. The pieces came into the museum’s possession as part of a generous gift of works by these two Austrian artists. The sculptures enter into a dialogue with the Carlone Hall’s allegorical pictorial program and the history of the Baroque palace.

Belvedere, Upper Belvedere, Prinz-Eugen-Strasse 27, 1030 Vienna, www.belvedere.at

End of February-start of July 2021: Monet, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin. Emil Bührle Collection / Leopold Museum

The Zurich-based industrialist Emil Bührle (1890-1956) compiled an eminent art collection. It focuses on French Impressionism and includes paintings by Manet, Degas, Renoir, Monet, van Gogh and Cézanne. The exhibition at the Leopold Museum showcases around 90 works from the collection, including masterpieces like Boy in a Red Vest by Paul Cézanne, Sower at Sunset by Vincent van Gogh and a water lily mural by Claude Monet.

Leopold Museum, MuseumsQuartier Vienna, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, www.leopoldmuseum.org

Mar 4-Jun 13, 2021: Joseph Beuys. Thinking. Acting. Mediating / Belvedere 21

Beginning in the 1960s, Joseph Beuys developed new ways of thinking that still come across as contemporary to this day, owing to their complexity. The presentation at the Belvedere 21 also centres on the concepts of thinking, acting, and mediating. While the main work, Honey Pump at the Workplace, stands as a symbolic representation of Joseph Beuys' belief that social transformation can be achieved through art, Stag Monuments seemingly marks the new beginning of a shattered society. In addition, the exhibition covers some of his pieces and documentary treatment of his work in Vienna.

Belvedere 21, Arsenalstrasse 1, 1030 Vienna, www.belvedere.at

Mar 19-Jun 27, 2021: Xenia Hausner. True Lies / Albertina

This temporary exhibition at the Albertina presents one of the most important Austrian painters of our time. The main focus of the show is on the practice of staging, which is so characteristic of Xenia Hausner’s work. Conceived as a retrospective, beginning with Hausner’s initial works from the 1990s, the exhibition advances to include her moving recent series, the Exiles.

Albertina, Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna, www.albertina.at

Apr 16-Sep 26, 2021: The Body Electric. Erwin Osen and Egon Schiele / Leopold Museum

The Body Electric presents the work of the little-known but highly mythologized artist Erwin Osen in the context of Viennese physician Stefan Jellinek’s electropathological research, and links it with Schiele’s interest in depicting patients. The hitherto unknown drawings created by Osen – who was a companion and model of Egon Schiele (1890-1918) and a co-signatory of the manifesto issued by Schiele’s Neukunstgruppe – expand and enrich our understanding of Viennese Modernism and its artistic practices, which were closely linked with clinical medicine.

Leopold Museum, MuseumsQuartier Vienna, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, www.leopoldmuseum.org

Apr 21-Oct 3, 2021: The Women of Wiener Werkstätte / MAK

Until now, precious little attention has been paid to the women involved in Wiener Werkstätte (1903-1932). But this new exhibition at the MAK is set to change that: Gudrun Baudisch, Vally Wieselthier, Mathilde Flögl, Paula Lustig and Mizzi Vogl are just a handful of the almost 180 women who made a key contribution to the evolution of Viennese handcraftsmanship – thanks especially to their prolific creativity in the fields of commercial graphic design, textile design, fashion design, toys, wall decoration, and ceramics.

MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna, www.mak.at

May 20-Sep 19, 2021: Instantly! Street Photography in Vienna / Wien Museum MUSA

Scenes from everyday life and street life in Vienna in a collection of previously unseen photos. The exhibition takes viewers on a fascinating voyage of photographic discovery, presenting masterpieces of street photography from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present day using selected exhibits from the Wien Museum collection: expressive street scenes, intimate snapshots and fleeting moments of urban life. Together, the pieces capture a new and evocative side to the Austrian capital.

Wien Museum MUSA, Felderstrasse 6-8, 1010 Vienna, www.wienmuseum.at

Jun 18-Oct 3, 2021: Lovis Corinth. Life – A Celebration / Lower Belvedere

Leaping into the age of modernism: Lovis Corinth made the transition from realism to expressionism through impressionism. The stylistic shifts from the nineteenth to the twentieth century provides the golden thread running through this German artist’s body of work. The Belvedere sets off on the trail of this exceptional artist.

Belvedere, Lower Belvedere, Rennweg 6, 1030 Vienna, www.belvedere.at

Other major exhibitions in Vienna in 2021/22

Jul 2-Oct 26, 2021: Lois Weinberger / Belvedere 21

The Tyrolean artist Lois Weinberger, who passed away in April 2020, had played a significant part in shaping artistic discourse around the relationship between nature and culture since the 1990s. A tug of war between ironic shamanism and quiet yet conceptual rigor, his works show the limits of human agency, revealing that our perceived superiority over the environment is an illusion. Before his death, Weinberger assembled a selection of works and texts from the last few decades for his second exhibition at the Belvedere 21, all of which will be shown in Vienna for the first time.

Belvedere 21, Arsenalstrasse 1, 1030 Vienna, www.belvedere.at

Sep 17, 2021-Jan 9, 2022: Modigliani – Picasso. Revolution of Primitivism / Albertina

The Albertina will honour Amedeo Modigliani with a major retrospective to mark the centenary of his death. For the first time, Modigliani will not be portrayed as a bohemian under the influence of alcohol and drugs, a pleasing portraitist and pioneer of art déco, but as a leading artist of the avant-garde who extended the revolution of primitivism far into the twentieth century. Modigliani’s oeuvre will be juxtaposed with characteristic key works by such artists as Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brâncuşi, and André Derain, as well as artifacts from so-called “primitive” – prehistoric, archaic, and non-European – civilizations.

Albertina, Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna, www.albertina.at

Oct 5, 2021-Jan 16, 2022: Titian’s Vision of Women. Beauty – Love – Poetry / Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

The Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna is dedicating its major fall exhibition in 2021 to Titian, one of the most important Venetian painters of them all. More than 50 masterpieces of Venetian painting from some the world’s top art museums including the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre in Paris will ensure that this exhibition is an exceptional highlight. At its heart are more than 20 paintings by Titian, surrounded by the great masters he inspired such as Veronese, Tintoretto, Palma Vecchio, Paris Bordone and Giorgione.

Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Vienna, www.khm.at

Oct 22, 2021-Jan 30, 2022: The Age of Dürer. Austria at the Gate of the Renaissance / Lower Belvedere

Lucas Cranach the Elder, Albrecht Altdorfer, Jacopo de’ Barbari – are just some of the famous names among the contemporaries of Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) who were all active in Austria around 1500 and the decades that followed. In many ways, the works created during the transitional period from Late Gothic to the Renaissance reveal a new form of artistic self-conception. The Belvedere is devoting a comprehensive exhibition to this chapter of Austrian art, which thus far has received little attention.

Belvedere, Lower Belvedere, Rennweg 6, 1030 Vienna, www.belvedere.at

Dec 15, 2021-Jun 19, 2022: Josef Hoffmann. Progress by Beauty / MAK

Marking the 150th anniversary of Josef Hoffmann’s (1870-1956) birth, this exhibition takes stock of the architect, designer, teacher and exhibition designer’s full portfolio for the first time. Hoffmann was one of the key representatives of Viennese Modernism and the international Life Reform movement. The exhibition provides a cross-section of his revolutionary designs and his most important buildings, including the Palais Stoclet in Brussels and Purkersdorf Sanatorium.

MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna, www.mak.at

Jan 28-May 29, 2022: Dalí – Freud / Lower Belvedere

London 1938 – Salvador Dalí met Freud, who by that point had fled Vienna. The first and only meeting between the artist and his idol was set up by Stefan Zweig and Edward James. In this far-ranging exhibition, the Belvedere explores this momentous connection and shows the psychoanalyst’s influence on Dalí’s work.

Belvedere, Lower Belvedere, Rennweg 6, 1030 Vienna, www.belvedere.at

Feb 18-Jun 19, 2022: Munch and Beyond / Albertina

Launching in spring 2022, the Albertina’s new main spring exhibition is dedicated to Edvard Munch (1863-1944) and the artists he inspired. Munch and Beyond will feature around 60 masterpieces by the artist himself, alongside twentieth-century greats such as Andy Warhol and Georg Baselitz and leading contemporary artists like Marlene Dumas, Peter Doig, Miriam Cahn and Tracey Emin.

Albertina, Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna, www.albertina.at

Still on at Vienna’s museums:

Beethoven exhibitions in Vienna

The Austrian capital became the creative centre for Ludwig van Beethoven and the setting for the majority of his premieres. 2020 marked the 250th anniversary of the great composer’s birth. Various major exhibitions in the city are dedicated to the musical genius throughout the year.

Until Jan 10, 2021: Beethoven. World of the Man and Spark of the Gods, Austrian National Library, Grand Hall, Hofburg, Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Vienna, www.onb.ac.at

Until Jan 24, 2021: Beethoven moves, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Vienna, www.khm.at, www.beethovenbewegt.at

Until Jan 30, 2022: The Triad of Viennese Classical Music: Haydn – Mozart – Beethoven. Similarities – Parallels – Opposites, Mozarthaus Vienna, Domgasse 5, 1010 Vienna, www.mozarthausvienna.at

Until April 5, 2021: Inspiration Beethoven. A Symphony in Pictures from Vienna 1900, Leopold Museum, MuseumsQuartier Vienna, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, www.leopoldmuseum.org

Until Dec 31, 2021: ANDY WARHOL EXHIBITS a glittering alternative + Defrosting the Icebox

Hidden treasures from the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna and the Weltmuseum Wien are putting in a guest appearance at the mumok.

Exhibition artist, installation artist or in fact a hidden curator? Rather than presenting his best-known pieces, “ANDY WARHOL EXHIBITS a glittering alternative” takes a behind-the-scenes look at the world-famous pop artist through various virtually unknown works, while also rediscovering Warhol’s talents as a pioneering exhibition and installation artist. The Defrosting the Icebox exhibition was designed in collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna and the Weltmuseum Wien. A look back in the rear view mirror: in 1969 Warhol curated “Raid The Icebox 1 with Andy Warhol”, a traveling exhibition comprising objects and works from the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. The museum’s holdings became an exhibition, bringing near-forgotten pieces into the limelight. Following the same principle, the show at the mumok presents unusual exhibits from the KHM’s Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities and from the Weltmuseum Wien collections.

mumok – museum of modern art ludwig foundation vienna, MuseumsQuartier Vienna, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, www.mumok.at

Until Feb 14, 2021: Gerhard Richter: Landscape / Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien is dedicating its major fall exhibition in 2020 to the artist Gerhard Richter, who has only rarely featured in the Austrian capital to date. Recognized internationally as the world’s most important living painter, Richter will be presenting a comprehensive retrospective of his landscapes at the Kunstforum.

Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien, Freyung 8, 1010 Vienna, www.kunstforumwien.at

Until Mar 14, 2021: Adolf Loos. Private Houses / MAK

During his lifetime, Adolf Loos (1870-1933) worked on private homes, as well as public residential buildings. Curated by the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in partnership with the Albertina, this exhibition sheds light on his work on private houses via drafts, plans, blueprints, photos and models of often luxuriously decorated family homes, villas and country residences. These projects are juxtaposed with examples of revolutionary social projects such as buildings for the City of Vienna.

MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna, www.mak.at

Until April 5, 2021: The Essl Collection / Albertina modern

This exhibition provides an overview of the Essl collection in Vienna for the first time, with 150 key works by some of the most famous artists from 1960 to the present day, including Antoni Tàpies, Erwin Wurm, Maria Lassnig, Georg Baselitz, Alex Katz, Per Kirkeby, Fang Lijun, Annette Messager, Andreas Gursky and Nam June Paik. The paintings, sculptures, objects, installations and videos featured in the exhibition give a clear picture of the variety of media covered by the Essl collection, which passed into the Albertina’s ownership in 2017.

Albertina modern, Karlsplatz 5, 1010 Vienna, www.albertina.at/albertina-modern

Until Apr 11, 2021: Corona’s Ancestors / Imperial Carriage Museum Vienna

Our ancestors were no strangers to epidemics. The Corona’s Ancestors exhibition was put together in record time to help people process the shock of the current pandemic through the prism of the past. Featuring a curated collection of around 50 items, it covers everything from tournament and carnival masks from the Viennese imperial court to eyewitness accounts of epidemics, documents on the history of vaccinations and funeral garb once worn by the Habsburg monarchs.

Imperial Carriage Museum Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace, 1130 Vienna, www.kaiserliche-wagenburg.at

Until Apr 13, 2021: Aztecs / Weltmuseum Wien

The Weltmuseum Wien is presenting fabled Aztec art and culture (circa 1430-1521) in 2020. This highlight show will focus on the sacrifices and offerings which played such an important part in the mercantile and religious lives of the Aztecs. The Aztec capital Tenochtitlán and its role as the empire’s religious and cultural centre is another major focus of the show.

Weltmuseum Wien, Heldenplatz, 1010 Vienna, www.weltmuseumwien.at

Until May 9, 2021: From Arts & Crafts to the Bauhaus. Art and Design – a New Unity! / Möbelmuseum Wien

The myths and stories surrounding the Bauhaus are legion. Concepts such as the Bauhaus style or the ‘Bauhaus idea’ have become platitudes in current design discourse. The Bauhaus itself has become a myth, an icon of modernism, mistakenly framed both as its pinnacle and starting point. Planned by the Bröhan Museum, Berlin’s museum of Jugendstil, Art Deco and Functionalism, the exhibition From Arts and Crafts to the Bauhaus seeks to dispel many of these myths and to provide a contribution to categorizing the Bauhaus within the context of design history.

Möbelmuseum Wien, Andreasgasse 7, 1070 Vienna, www.moebelmuseumwien.at

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