Guided Tour with Karl Bruckschwaiger

Meeting Point: Messe VIP Counter, Foyer der Viennafair
Duration: max. 1,5h

1.
Artist: Mona Hatoum, *1952 Beirut; lives and works in London and Berlin
Projekt: Hanging Garden
Location: KÖR at Kunsthalle Wien public space, Treitlstraße 1, 1040 Vienna

An eight meter long wall of burlap sandbags, Mona Hatoum’s Hanging Garden (2008-2009) takes a form familiar from news bulletins or documentary photographs of war zones and checkpoints, an ubiquitous part of the architecture of conflict. But here, in the bustling cultural environs of central Vienna, it is out of place. And, sprouting tufts of bright green grass and weeds, it seems to have been here for a while. In Hatoum’s works, the familiar and the strange exchange places, and the seeds of doubt are strewn amongst that which we take most for granted. The accoutrements of war become elegant, attractive, even seductive, but are also a reminder not only of all the wars going on across the world, but of all the lives that carry on regardless.
 
2.
Artist: Andrea Witzmann, *1970 lebt und arbeitet in Wien
Projekt: fanbo
Location: KÖR showcase at Kunsthalle Wien public space, Treitlstraße 1, 1040 Vienna

Usually, the word “fan” is associated with signifying an enthusiastic follower rather than a ventilation device. The Viennese photographer Andrea Witzmann takes up this double meaning in an ironic manner: spatial situations from climatic zones where ventilator cooling makes life more agreeable are mounted on the shell of the cube offering itself for interventions on Karlsplatz. Witzmann thus not only endows the location with a tropical flair and the ambience of a careless lightness of being, but also refers to its character as a functional infrastructural hub in the heart of the city. The extension of the depth of its space through the photographic installation corresponds to the showcase niches’ presentation. Touristic axes of vision focusing on Witzmann’s central work emphasize the performative nature of the Karlsplatz area.
 
We kindly ask for your reservation until May 8th at the latest to: viennafair.events@messe.at

More informationen to KÖR here: www.koer.or.at