The Albertina brings us another gem of an art event in early 2022 with their Munch exhibition: a man whose sombre outlook feels strangely relevant these days.
- Dozen’s of works by Munch
- Places his paintings etc. in a dialogue with those by artists he influenced (like Tracey Emin and Andy Warhol)
- Runs Feb 18 – Jun 19, 2022
- See also:
- Current Albertina ticket & visitor info
- Current art exhibitions in Vienna
Munch In Dialogue
(Edvard Munch, Street in Aagsgaardstrand, 1901; oil on canvas; Kunstmuseum Basel; gift by Sigrid Schwarz von Spreckelsen and Sigrid Katharina Schwarz, 1979; Photo: Kunstmuseum Basel, Martin P. Bühler)
At the end of 2019, CNN published a list of the most famous paintings in the world. Edvard Munch’s versions of The Scream sit at No.4, just after van Gogh’s The Starry Night and just before Picasso’s Guernica.
(Incidentally, you can actually see CNN’s No.5 in Vienna).
Munch (1863-1944), then, needs no introduction, and the Albertina’s main spring 2022 exhibition offers a particular treat for fans of this hugely-impactful Norwegian.
You might even argue that typical Munch motifs, such as melancholy and loneliness, have become particularly relevant given the times we’ve lived through recently.
Several dozen of Munch’s works make an appearance in the exhibition, with a focus on his later efforts and the influence of his output, painting approach, themes, and motifs on those who came after him.
As such, Munch’s works appear together with those by modern and contemporary artists like Tracey Emin, Andy Warhol, Georg Baselitz, Jasper Johns, Miriam Cahn, Peter Doig, and Marlene Dumas.
Norway’s Munchmuseet, for example, recently held a joint exhibition of Emin’s work alongside Munch’s. Her regard for his works began in her teenage years, and she’s quoted as saying:
As an artist Munch has had the biggest effect on me, throughout the whole of my life.
Warhol visited Munch’s works in situ in Oslo in the early 1970s. He later produced the After Munch series of prints that added his unique touch to some of the originals.
And Baselitz has said in interview:
…Munch was the first important painter who had a great influence on me.
Munch is no stranger to the Albertina, of course: they have over 120 of his works in their own collection.
And previous Munch exhibitions at the same location proved enormously popular. 2015’s Love, Death and Loneliness, for example, focused on his printed graphic works and included such iconic motifs as Self-portrait with Skeleton Arm and The Scream.
The new exhibition has the support of Oslo’s National Museum and the Munchmuseet, as well as various other important institutions and collections.
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy Munch and his successors from February 18th to June 19th, 2022. A standard ticket for the Albertina includes the exhibition.
Vienna looks set to cover us in artistic treats in the first half of 2022 with several top events (Munch being very much one of them).
For example, the David Hockney retrospective at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien runs for almost the same time. The MAK has its own major retrospective covering the work of the legendary Austrian designer, Josef Hoffmann. And the Albertina Modern thrills us with an Ai Weiwei exhibition, too.
How to get to Munch
Check the main Albertina article for travel tips.
If you visit toward the end of the exhibition dates, then pop over to the other side of the Hofburg once you’re done and visit the Volksgarten park. The rose garden might be in bloom to offer a sight as colourful as anything you find in an art museum.
Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna