In Between. Austria Contemporary [Vilnius]

24.06.2011 - 21.08.2011

Siuolaikinio Meno Centras, SMC, Vilnius / Lietuva

The exhibition “In Between. Austria Contemporary” presents several major themes and positions of contemporary Austrian art in loose thematic groups and different medias.
The exhibition presents a small part of the national collection of contemporary Austrian art. Each piece of art in this exhibition was acquired by the Austrian state in order to support artists. The Austrian state performs a wide variety of federal funding programmes for all segments of contemporary art including the performing and fine arts, music and literature, film, new media, photography, architecture and design.... Since 1945 when the Second Republic of Austria was established, funds from the national art funding budget have been used to establish a collection of contemporary Austrian art. This collection may by now be regarded as an unparalleled documentation of Austrian artistic creativity both in terms of its quality and scope, offering a representative cross-section of the themes and issues addressed by contemporary art.

What are the issues, what are the artistic strategies reflected by contemporary Austrian art? It is diverse, critical, challenging, experimental and open. Artists are multitasking specialists; they work in a great variety of media, including film, video, drawing, painting, installation and performance. They cross the boundaries between high art and popular culture, between art and everyday life. Artists in and from Austria are global players; they live in Vienna and Berlin, they work as artists in residence in Tokyo, New York, London and Shanghai. The young generation moves around the globe with ease, it takes its inspiration not only from European culture but also from “global” culture. Through media networks it establishes worldwide contacts and relationships – this is how Austria suddenly gets to be somewhere else, too. After first being shown in Israel, the exhibition went on to show in Croatia, Montenegro, Cyprus, Hungary, Turkey, China, Liechtenstein, Austria and Belgium, it will open on June 23 in the Contemporary Art Centre Vilnius.

The exhibition “In Between. Austria Contemporary” is initiated, commissioned and organised by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture.

[Source: http://www.cac.lt/]