Josef Bauer
Hertha Hurnaus
Fritz Panzer
Sofie Thorsen

10.06.–31.07.2021

JOSEF BAUER
1934 born in Wels (A), Lives and works in Linz and Gunskirchen (A).

Since the 1950s, some artists – including Josef Bauer – turned to language in order to break the mold in sculpture. Like many of his contemporaries, Bauer was searching for an artistic vocabulary that would make it possible to comprehend the world again. A world that was facing huge upheavals and reforms after the end of the Second World War. A world ‘in crisis’ presents artists, in particular, with great challenges and the question of which stories can be told when lived history goes far beyond the limits of the imagination. A world that has fallen apart must be put back together again or its stories told on a different level.
Bauer’s work was influenced by media and information theories of the 1960s. "
"At the beginning of the sixties, I was interested in the body in space, and I focused on the area between the body and its surroundings." Josef Bauer.
When Bauer set off to appropriate the world on a new, abstract level, writing became increasingly important to him in formulating his ‘Picture Languages’. From: Harald Krejci „Explorations, 2019.



HERTHA HURNAUS
1951 born in Linz (A). Lives and works in Vienna (A).

The photographs of Hertha Hurnaus are dedicated to the works of the architect Vladimir Dedeček, which were built between 1960 and the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The photos, however, are not documentary in nature, but rather an homage to an era of change in the field of architecture. As the images focus on interiors and details, the buildings are only recognisable to experts. They emphasise the common features of these structures: colour compositions that are reminiscent of abstract works of art. Located barely an hour’s drive from Vienna, these buildings are not unlike spaceships that have just returned to earth from an optimistic future. From: Oliver Elser „Hertha Hurnaus“, 2015.



FRITZ PANZER
1945 born in Judenburg (A). Lives and works in Vienna (A).

According to Wikipedia this technique was first used in China 2000 years ago. A wooden frame and human hair for mesh were used to make the screen and leaves were used for stencils. This is probably how the very first screen prints were made.
Applying colour through a screen of fabric. That’s how I would describe the technique I used to create these works. I don’t want to use the term “screen printing”, as reproduction was never my intention. These works are unique.
Screen printing is a very efficient method to apply multiple layers of colour. Here it was done in the simplest possible manner: I used one of my mother’s curtains as mesh to make the screen, the stencils were made of pieces of newspaper and the colour pigments were mixed with hide glue. Fritz Panzer, 2021.



SOFIE THORSEN
1971 born in Aarhus (D). Lives and works in Vienna (A).

The engraved drawings relate to the colour and shape of the stone. The thin line is in the foreground thus lending the surface of the stone a three-dimensional quality, which was less perceptible before.
The stones themselves are random found pieces, leftovers of masonry and construction work. Fragments of an entity which will never become whole again. Sofie Thosen, 2021.
The exhibition at the Pinakothek der Moderne, München presents the objects related to Bauhaus in the collection of the Museum on the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of Bauhaus. As one of five contemporary artists, Sofie Thorsen was invited to examine Bauhaus works from the museum collection. Her construction elements, large-format raw wire models, refer to 8 small objects by the artist and architect Herrmann Finsterlin, the Didyms, where Didym stands for twin or double. Partly toys, partly geometrical models, partly prototypes, these colorful combinations of simple shapes deny any clear definition, but they could have been intended as a prototype of a construction game.