Many paintings invite you to question the motif or story represented in colours. Jakob Gasteiger’s often monochromatic art invites you to question your perceptions of colour, materials, structure and texture. See for yourself at an exhibition of this Austrian artist’s works at the Albertina.
- Covers all Gasteiger’s creative periods to date
- Runs Apr 23, 2021 – Aug 22, 2021
- See also:
Colours. Lines. Transitions. Spaces.
(Jakob Gasteiger; Untitled, 2014; Oil on canvas; © Bildrecht 2021, Photo © Rainer Iglar)
Jakob Gasteiger (b. 1953) defies generic description as a painter, since his works refuse to fit the conventional understanding of painting as a depiction.
The Salzburg-born artist is perhaps most commonly associated with his minimalist paintings using largely single colours applied with a notched spreader (rather than a brush).
The result becomes self-referential. The absence of a depiction leads the viewer to focus, for example, more on the texture and structure created through the application technique; the interfaces between colour, form and material become less defined.
Gasteiger’s art also edges further into three dimensions with, for example, his aluminium sculptures and installations (which recently featured in the main courtyard of the MuseumsQuartier complex here in Vienna).
The exhibition at the Albertina covers his full oeuvre; the placement of the works within the white walls and arches of the gallery creates a series of stark, impactful and powerful contrasts across the room.
Dates, tickets & tips
Absorb yourself in Gasteiger’s works between April 23rd, 2021 and August 22nd, 2021.
Entrance to the exhibition simply requires a ticket for the Albertina or an appropriate sightseeing card.
Other temporary exhibitions of contemporary art that run largely concurrently include:
- The photos of Elfie Semotan at the Kunsthaus Wien
- A handful of pieces by the Hohenbüchlers at Upper Belvedere
- A Daniel Spoerri retrospective at the Kunstforum Wien
- Xenia Hausner’s paintings (also at the Albertina, one floor down from Gasteiger exhibition).
How to get to the exhibition
Follow the travel tips at the bottom of the main Albertina page. The museum sits in a cityscape that might have been considered contemporary in the late 19th century, though the art inside runs the gamut from renaissance masterpieces to the geniuses of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Gasteiger exhibition is on the ground floor, soon after you pass through the ticket control.
Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna