Kunsthaus Bregenz
KUB 2016
Program 2016
Mission Statement 2016
The program at Kunsthaus Bregenz is founded on issues linked to this particular place. Monographic
statements are being planned that address both the building itself and the structures of the
past and present. Art’s sensory means can lead to a reconsideration of unquestioned judgments,
prescribed moral standards, and individual self-identity. In 2016 four artists will be engaging with
currently pressing issues: the movement of refugees, the frictions between cultures and
religions, the hegemony of digitally controlled capital, and the fault lines of suppressed history.
If art is merely delivered, hung, and returned, it remains disconnected. Rather it should emerge from
the specifics of the locality, being inspired by existent structures, and relating to local circumstances. It
is a matter of precision and individual statements, of being specifically adapted, of inspiration and
grand gestures. This is what KUB stands for. In 2016 exhibitions throughout the entire institution will
be cast from one mold. The four monographic exhibitions will be accompanied by a program entailing
new concepts: the KUB Billboards on Seestraße which will in future be dedicated to a younger
generation of artists, who have grown up in an increasingly digitalized and globalized world,
likewise KUB Projects will use external spaces to make art also visible as a social practice.
I am proud to be able to assume leadership of the future of Kunsthaus Bregenz and its employees.
Kunsthaus Bregenz represents an extraordinary success story. Since opening in 1997 its worldwide
profile has been well secured. Above all its interior spaces provoke a productive disruption to habitual
sensibilities. It is as if eyes, ears, and pores have been opened up. It is not surprising that the architect Peter Zumthor relates closely to music. He has also created the best possible conditions for the
visual arts. The paintings by the US American Joan Mitchell, whose works were on display in the 2015
summer exhibition Joan Mitchell: Retrospective, could hardly have unfolded in any other space with
such majesty. The manner in which the paint has been applied with such verve and painterly vitality
becomes all the more vivid against the background of the refined concrete walls. Restlessness and
tranquility, curiosity and humility confront each other. The audience enthusiastically absorbed the
exhibition’s visual energy.
We are currently preparing the last exhibition of the year. Heimo Zobernig, who was invited by Yilmaz
Dziewior to represent Austria at this year’s Venice Biennale, will be recreating the installation he
constructed for the Austrian Pavilion in Venice in the spaces of the Kunsthaus. This will entail the
partial removal of the famous glass ceiling. Outside the space and against the façade of
the Vorarlberger Landestheater facing Karl-Tizian-Platz, Zobernig is having a large-scale black wall
erected. This sober structure is a reference to his own laconic art as well as to the building itself — a monumental cast shadow comprising plywood coated in tar. As a harbinger, Zobernig’s invitation
card and exhibition poster features an image of white display walling, a neutral matter-of-fact tabula
rasa. Heimo Zobernig’s lapidary placeholders are examples of an art which has the ability to
disrupt practiced patterns of thought. However, art can only encourage vanguard thinking and
contemplation, if it eschews distractions, superficial charm, and blind confirmations of the status quo.
In succeeding it becomes capable of transforming both prevailing beliefs and the existing context.
Susan Philipsz
30 | 01 – 03 | 04 | 2016
Theaster Gates
23 | 04 – 26 | 06 | 2016
Wael Shawky
16 | 07 – 23 | 10 | 2016
Lawrence Weiner
12 | 11 | 2016 – 15 | 01 | 2017
Exhibitions 2016
Peter Zumthor has written that his design for the KUB building was inspired by the weather conditions
particular to its location on Lake Constance — its light, mist, and fog. A climatic atmosphere and a
perception of light became architecture. The building is a response to and a visualization of
the location. The Scottish artist, and winner of the Turner Prize, Susan Philipsz is addressing the
musical heritage of German speaking emigrants, indirectly referencing Zumthor’s fog metaphor.
Hanns Eisler wrote the music for the film Night and Fog by Alain Resnais from 1955. The film narrates
deportations during the Holocaust. Audio tracks of this music will be heard in the Kunsthaus. The
building becomes a physical resonance of loss, crime, and history. In addition KUB will be
cooperating with the Jewish Museum of Hohenems. A work by Philipsz en plein air at the Jewish
cemetery will confront the history of the region.
The US American artist Theaster Gates is a shooting star in the world of contemporary art. Gates is
well known as the initiator of the annual meeting of Afro-American artists in Chicago. He is considering
a variant of his Black Artists Retreat for Bregenz, possibly in relation to refugees now living in the
vicinity. Theaster Gates’ visual work comprises large-scale sculpture, distinctive for its roughly finished
carpentry, coated in bitumen or clad in roof shingles. Before working as an artist Gates was a Chicago
Transit Authority employee. This experience of engaging with social and urban issues is one that also
distinguishes his artistic practice. For the Dorchester Project Gates acquired vacant derelict buildings,
which he refurbished and transformed into cultural institutions and for which he has since become
renowned far beyond his hometown.
Wael Shawky follows in summer during the period of the Bregenz Festival. The Egyptian artist, based
in Alexandria, became instantly renowned after presenting his film Cabaret Crusades at the Istanbul
Biennial 2011. A book by the Franco-Lebanese author Amin Maalouf, narrating the medieval crusades
from an Arabic perspective, served as his point of departure. The theatrical and elaborate costumes
involved in this summer show immediately evoke associations with the Bregenz Festival. Some of the
dialogue in these films is in Arabic. The differences between East and West, the common but
simultaneously disputed history of their holy sites, and links to Acre in Israel, one of Bregenz’ twin
towns, all comprise extremely current references.
The forth solo exhibition during the fall of 2016 is dedicated to Lawrence Weiner, one of
Conceptual Art’s most senior protagonists. Weiner is a cult figure in the world of contemporary art.
His subject matter is language and text which may take a spatial or sculptural form. The work
addresses reading and decoding, interpretations and associations, and not least questions concerning
the nature of the work of art itself. For KUB he is planning a comprehensive display of his work, which
will also include an exterior one on KUB’s striking glass façade.
KUB 2016.01
Susan Philipsz
30 | 01 — 03 | 04 | 2016
Susan Philipsz is one of today’s leading artists. Her work revolves around explorations of the human
voice and a melancholic existentialism. Her acoustic work is an interplay between spaces and
sensibilities. The majority of her works draw on the specifics of particular places. She became wellknown through a capella renditions of songs; her work Filter (1998) for example quoted such artists as
Nirvana, Marianne Faithfull, Velvet Underground, and Radiohead. The work was replayed
through loudspeakers located at a bus stop and in a supermarket. For the 1999 Manifesta in Ljubljana
she sang the Internationale in a passageway. In 2000 she addressed James Joyce’s short story The
Dead. For the Glasgow International Festival she developed Lowlands, after a ballad from the 16th
century. The love song — initially sung in three versions, to be replayed in the dark spaces under
Glasgow’s bridges — was later recreated at Tate Modern in London, where it won her the
prestigious Turner Prize (2010).
The subject matter of memory, grief, and trauma has been increasingly confronted recently, such as in
the work for the rotunda in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and at the site of the train station in
Kassel for dOCUMENTA (13). In a recent series of work she has been employing instruments
damaged by war. The voices have now become instrumental, their staging a sculptural but
nonetheless scarred presence.
»I see the voice as a means to infiltrate spaces, like a ghost in the machine, and return experience to
a human scale. I also see the voice as a means to address people both individually and as a
collective. Experiencing a lone, disembodied voice in a public setting can produce a strange
experience among an unsuspecting audience, like feeling alone in a crowd.«
Susan Philipsz
Kunsthaus Bregenz has become renowned for commissioning works. Susan Philipsz will be
continuing this tradition, whilst also forging links to Vorarlberg’s own musical landscape.
Biography
Susan Philipsz was born in 1965 in Glasgow. She completed a BA in Fine Art at Duncan of
Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee (1989-93) and an MA in Fine Art at the University of Ulster,
Belfast (1993-94). In 2000 she was awarded a residency in the P.S.1 studio program, and in 2001 she
participated in the Kunst-Werke e.V. artists’ residency program in Berlin, the city she has lived in
since. In 2010 she won the Turner Prize, and in 2014 she was awarded an OBE.
Her recent solo exhibitions include War Damaged Musical Instruments, Duveen Galleries, Tate Britain,
London (2015/2016); Follow Me, various locations in Genoa, Museo de Arte Contemporana Villa
Croce, Genoa (2015); War Damaged Musical Instruments (Pair), Theseustempel, Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Vienna (2015); The Distant Sound, various venues, Denmark, Sweden, Norway (2014); Part
File Score, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2014); It Means Nothing To Me, Mizuma Gallery, Beijing,
(2012); Seven Tears, Ludwig Forum für internationale Kunst, Aachen (2011); You Are Not Alone,
Haus des Rundfunks, Berlin (2011); We Shall Be All, MCA Chicago (2011).
Her many group exhibitions include the 14th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2015); Soundscapes, The
National Gallery, London (2015); Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture,
Kyoto (2015); Manifesta 10, St. Petersburg (2014); Soundings, A Contemporary Score, MoMA – The
Museum of Modern Art, New York, (2013); dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel (2012); Haunted, Solomon R.
Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010); Turner Prize, Tate Britain, London (2010); the 29th Biennale
de São Paulo, São Paulo (2010).
Public collections include Tate Britain, London; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Walker
Arts Center, Minneapolis; MCA Chicago; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid;
Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Palazzo Reale, Milan.
KUB 2016.02
Theaster Gates
23 | 04 — 26 | 06 | 2016
Theaster Gates is an American artist, performer, and activist. His practice encompasses sculpture,
installations, performances, and urban interventions that aim to bridge the gap between art and life.
In his projects he is committed to instigating cultural communities that act as catalysts for a social
engagement which may lead to political and spatial changes.
His work results in temporary walls, platforms, and usable buildings. Wood and coatings of black tar
dominate, roof and wall coverings remain roughly finished. The objects not only speak for themselves,
but also address social realities. Gates’ interest centers on the potential of the poetic and ritualistic,
and not least their socio-political energy. Gates, not only trained as a sculptor but also originally as an
urban planner, was an employee at Chicago Transit Authority, a company operating the second
largest public transport network in the United States, in Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs. His
work, imbued with social responsibility, addresses issues of communal transport, urban planning, and
social history. Gates’ best-known initiative is The Dorchester Project, a sustainable ongoing real estate
development project. At the end of 2006 Gates acquired an unoccupied building on Chicago’s South
Side and worked together with a team of architects and developers on a renovation of the building that
included the use of a variety of found materials. The building and subsequently several more in its
vicinity have become a hub for cultural activity. Today it not only houses a book and record library but
has also become a venue for dinners (choreographed occasions entitled »Plate Convergences«),
concerts, and performances. Gates describes this project as »real-estate art« and understands it
as part of a »circular ecological system«, since the renovations of the buildings are financed entirely
by the sale of sculptures and artworks that were created from materials salvaged from their interiors.
His works are extremely apt for KUB in their large-scale spatial presence. They are confrontational
statements and bulky monuments, embodying a socio-critical attitude targeting the structure of
society. An independent body of work is being developed for KUB.
Biography
Theaster Gates was born in 1973 in Chicago, where he lives and works. He has exhibited widely,
including group shows such as Saltwater, 14th Istanbul Biennial (2015), the Whitney Biennial, New
York (2010), dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel (2012), The Spirit of Utopia at the Whitechapel, London
(2013), and Studio Museum’s When Stars Collide in New York (2014). In 2015 he was a participant in
the Venice Biennale. Major solo exhibitions include To Speculate Darkly: Theaster Gates and Dave,
the Slave Potter at Milwaukee Art Museum (2010), Theaster Gates:The Listening Room at Seattle Art
Museum (2011/2012), and Theaster Gates: 13th Ballad at MCA Chicago (2013), as well as The Black
Monastic residency at Museu Serralves, Porto (2014).
In 2013, Gates was awarded the inaugural Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics, and in 2015 he
won the Artes Mundi 6 Prize. Gates is also the founder of the non-profit Rebuild Foundation. Since
2011 he has been the Director of Arts and Public Life at the University of Chicago and has been
awarded an honorary doctorate by the San Francisco Art Institute.
KUB 2016.03
Wael Shawky
16 | 07 — 23 | 10 | 2016
Born in Alexandria, the artist became known almost overnight a few years ago. He was working on a
trilogy of films called Cabaret Crusades, which he presented for the first time at the Istanbul Biennial
2011. Their subject matter is the medieval crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries, their sets
represent the sites of oriental battlefields. In contrast to conventional films, Wael Shawky narrates
the crusades from an Arab point of view, remaining faithful to the book The Crusades Through Arab
Eyes by the Franco-Lebanese author Amin Maalouf, published in 1983. The work focuses on an
analysis of written history, drawing on a variety of historical sources for inspiration in order to represent and translate the history of the crusades from a fresh perspective. The films Cabaret
Crusade: The Horror Show File (2010) and Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo (2012, musical) were
exhibited along with accompanying installations of drawings and objects at dOCUMENTA (13) in the
summer of 2012.
Shawky uses marionettes as actors and a self-built stage as a set. Some of the elaborately attired
wooden figures originate from the 18th century, whilst others are newly fabricated ceramic ones.
Recently, as could be witnessed at Art Basel 2015, they have also been cast from glass and
presented in illuminated display cases like mute ancestors and eerie ghosts.
Wael Shawky uses a variety of media such as film, drawing, photography, and performance, to
investigate and analyze the real and imaginary histories and narratives of the Arab world.
His multi-layered reconstructions and retellings force viewers to engage in questions of truth, myth,
and stereotypes. The artist sees himself as a translator of instances of civilizational transition
into material form.
The work is about history, about manipulation and ideology, but also about a critique of the media and
their representational norms. These plays obtain an explosive power from the religious conflicts of the
present day. Cairo, Aleppo, and Damascus were then as now the sites of hostile and bloody clashes.
The waves of refugees have made these conflicts directly perceptible in Europe, a development that
had not been foreseeable a few months ago when the exhibition was being arranged.
Biography
Wael Shawky, born in Alexandria in 1971, studied Fine Art at the University of Alexandria before
receiving his M.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2000.
His work has been included in major international exhibitions such as Saltwater, 14th Istanbul Biennial
(2015), Re:emerge: Towards a New Cultural Cartography, Sharjah Biennial 11 (2013), Here,
Elsewhere, La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille (2013), dOCUMENTA (13) (2012), 9th Gwangju Biennial,
South Korea (2012), 12th International Istanbul Biennial (2011), SITE Santa Fe Biennial (2008),
9th International Istanbul Biennial (2005), Urban Realities: Focus Istanbul, Martin-Gropius-Bau,
Berlin (2005), and the 50th Venice Biennial (2003).
He has had solo exhibitions most recently at MoMA PS1, New York (2015), Mathaf — Arab Museum
of Modern Art, Doha (2015), K20 — Kunstsammlung NRW, Düsseldorf (2014), Serpentine Gallery,
London (2013), KW — Institute of Contemporary Art, Berlin (2012), Nottingham Contemporary
(2011); Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2011), The Delfina Foundation, London (2011), SfeirSemler Gallery, Beirut (2010/2011), Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella, Italy (2010), as well as
Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo (2005, 2003).
Shawky has received many awards for his work, including the Mario Merz Prize (2015, together
with Cyrill Schürch), the Sharjah Biennial Award 2013 for an exceptional contribution, the »Award for
the Filmic Oeuvre« created by Luis Vuitton and Kino der Kunst (2013), the Abraaj Capital Art Prize,
joint winner (2012); Kunstpreis der Schering Stiftung (2011), as well as the Grand Prize, 25th
Alexandria Biennale, Alexandria (2009). In 2011 he was an artist in residence at The Center for
Possible Studies, Serpentine Gallery, London.
Wael Shawky lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt, and is the founder of MASS Alexandria, a studio
program for young artists.
KUB 2016.04
Lawrence Weiner
12 | 11 | 2016 — 15 | 01 | 2017
Lawrence Weiner is one of the world’s most renowned artists. He is one of the outstanding figures
from the first generation of American Conceptual Art. This form of art, evolving during the 1960s,
questioned existing definitions of what a work of art is, as well as the necessity of it taking
material form. In 1968, Weiner authored a manifesto that, for him, still remains valid today. It
established three theses: The first formulated the option of the artist producing the work (»The artist
may construct the piece«); the second concerned its making (»The piece may be fabricated«); and the
third states that the work does not necessarily have to be carried out (»The piece need not be built«).
Each of the three options are of equal value and consistent with the artist’s intentions. Decisions
regarding execution are at the discretion of the recipient at the time of receipt (»Each being equal and
consistent with the intent of the artist, the decision as to condition rests with the receiver upon the
occasion of the receivership.«) The statement stipulates that the work may consist only of a
conceptual structure. Yet despite these radical theses Weiner still sees himself as a sculptor, even if
his artistic material is almost exclusively language. Whilst performances and films are present in his
output, it is above all the text works, developed in drawings and applied large-scale to walls, that
remain most characteristic. Weiner frequently authors them in the language of the country they are to
be seen in, and concurrently in English, his own native language. In doing so he focuses on translation
as a continuing process of reading and decoding, the basis for any sensory perception. Typography,
surface, and siting play an equally significant role as the means of presentation does. Some works
take the form of audio recordings, whilst others that of printed matter, graffiti, tattoos, poetry, and
posters.
It is not only Weiner’s artistic rank that is alluring to Kunsthaus Bregenz but also his profoundly spatial
thinking. Relations to place and an involvement with space and local circumstances characterize
both Weiner’s oeuvre and KUB not only as an exhibition venue but also architecturally. The artist has
already formulated some initial ideas for KUB. Weiner’s intention, referencing the stacking of
four almost identical floors as four exhibition spaces, is to highlight the verticality of the space and
building, and he is currently envisaging an »artistic geyser.« An idea whose development promises
a stimulating dialogue.
Biography
Lawrence Weiner was born February 10, 1942 in the Bronx, New York City. After
graduating highschool, he spent the late Fifties and early Sixties travelling throughout North America
(USA, Mexico, and Canada). The first presentation of his work took place at Mill Valley, California, in
1960.
Lawrence Weiner has had solo exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (2013), Museu d’Art
Contemporani in Barcelona (2013), Haus der Kunst in Munich (2007), Museo Tamayo Arte
Contemporáneo in Mexico City (2004), Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (2000), Walker Art Center,
Minneapolis (1994), and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. (1990). He
was a participant in dOCUMENTA 5, 6, 7, and 13 (1972, 1977, 1982, 2012) in Kassel and the 36th,
41st, 50th, and 55th Venice Biennale (1972, 1984, 2003, 2013). He is the recipient of numerous
awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1994), the Wolfgang-Hahn-Preis from the Gesellschaft
für Moderne Kunst am Museum Ludwig in Cologne (1995), the Roswitha Haftmann-Preis from the
eponymous Zürich-based foundation (2015), and a honorary doctorate from the City University of New
York (2013).
Lawrence Weiner divides his time between his studio in New York City and his boat in Amsterdam.
KUB Projects 2016
KUB Projects constitute a forum for the expanded involvement with the current developments in both
contemporary art and society. Based on experimental formats and practices, discussions, and
interventions in public space, KUB Projects enter into a direct dialogue with the town, its history and
people. They attempt to take up narrative threads, inscribing themselves into them, in order to be able
to react to current socio-political affairs. To this end the spaces of the former postal building form the
local point of departure. Over the course of the year they will be activated in various ways: as a
meeting place and a forum for debate, as a kind of base camp for interventions in the city, as open
showroom or a site for rehearsal, research, and artistic production. In a time marked by continual
realignment, restructuring, and reorganization, the KUB Projects are to create a space which enables
the institution to react spontaneously to current developments in the field of art and beyond.
For the summer of 2016 KUB Projects are extending an invitation to their summer program on KarlTizian-Platz. The schedule consists of a curated film program, performances, talks, and interventions,
opening up the place as a stage for film and events. In the fall of the same year KUB Projects are
presenting an international symposium. As its point of origin the conference takes the observation that
for a number of years culture-historical phenomena have been interpreted increasingly from the point
of view of economic theory. In close cooperation with the art historian and cultural scientist Wolfgang
Ullrich the symposium will scrutinize the main features of the current upswing in economic theory.
Further items on the agenda of KUB Projects as well as details of the summer program and the
symposium will be announced separately in due course. KUB Projects are curated collaboratively by
Thomas D. Trummer and Eva Birkenstock.
KUB Billboards 2016
Starting in 2016 KUB Billboards will constitute a new, independent line of programming to enhance the
visibility of a younger generation of artists, positioning them right at the center of Bregenz’ public
eye. KUB Billboards will concentrate in particular on those artists who have been growing up in the
midst of recent epochal turning points: starting from the demise of state socialism, and the increasingly
globalized world that followed from it, and that, throughout the 1990s, was more and more
superimposed by a digitalized capitalization of all spheres of live. In the networked era in which now
we live, the internet, the logic of algorithmic processing, social media, and surveillance manifest a
precondition for our everyday existence. The perception of our »reality« has drastically changed, and
with it the modes of conceptualizing it. Throughout the year four artists will produce site-specific
interventions concurrently to the in-house exhibitions. For the first two slots in 2016, Viennabased artist Anna-Sophie Berger and the Canadian Feminist Land Art Retreat are invited to transform
the billboards into screens, paintings, spaces, sculptures, and other interfaces. KUB Billboards
are curated by Eva Birkenstock.
Review 2015
Kunsthaus Bregenz
Overview 2015
In addition to the remarkable exhibitions, 2015 also saw a change of Directors at KUB. Yilmaz
Dziewior, Director of Kunsthaus Bregenz since 2009, moved to Museum Ludwig in Cologne
in February. Nevertheless, the 2015 exhibition program still bears his signature.
Since May this year, Thomas D. Trummer has been the new Director of Kunsthaus Bregenz. A
selection committee comprising prestigious experts considered a shortlist from 80 applications. At the
final hearing, the jury unanimously chose Thomas D. Trummer.
The outstanding exhibition spaces designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor result in architecture
and art entering into a mutually fruitful dialogue at Kunsthaus Bregenz. The building’s distinctive aura
galvanizes most of the invited artists into creating new works that respond to the architecture or form a
symbiotic relationship to it.
Likewise Heimo Zobernig, who is currently preparing the next and final exhibition of this year, is deeply
involved in the KUB building. The artist, who was responsible for this year’s Austrian contribution to
the Venice Biennale, will be producing a striking finale to a very successful year of exhibitions. One of
this year’s highlights was the summer exhibition Joan Mitchell: Retrospective. Her Life and Paintings,
which has attracted a large audience: about 20,000 visitors will have seen the American’s large-format
works by the end of the exhibition on October 25, after which the exhibition will be travelling to
Museum Ludwig in Cologne.
Berlinde De Bruyckere – The Embalmer recorded around 8,500 visitors earlier in the year. In a
successful cooperation with Kunstraum Dornbirn, the exhibition was conceived as a show of twoparts for two very different venues, extending and supplementing each other, whilst focusing on
differing specific aspects of Berlinde De Bruyckere’s work.
At the beginning of the year Rosemarie Trockel created an extensive exhibition titled Märzôschnee
ûnd Wiebôrweh sand am Môargô niana më especially for Kunsthaus Bregenz. Around 9,000 visitors
saw the first solo exhibition in Austria for more than 20 years by the Cologne based artist.
The KUB Arena also received a great deal of attention from both the media and visitors. The year
began with the Swiss architects Trix and Robert Haussmann, whose mirror intervention in dialogue
with the building’s architecture opened unforeseen spaces on the ground floor. In the spring the New
York graphic design duo Dexter Sinister presented At 1:1 Scale.*, a speaking asterisk that guided
visitors through past KUB Arena projects. For KAMP KAYA feat. KAYA (Kerstin Brätsch, Debo
Eilers, Kaya Serene) & Guests the KAYA project initiated interactions with Bregenz’ summer
activities — in the context of performances, film screenings, boat trips, hiking excursions, and
cable car rides. The KUB Arena program concluded with Yes & No by the internationally renowned
painter Amy Sillman. Even if exclusively addressing painting, the exhibition presented
everything but painting, revealing the background to the origins of absent works.
The KUB Collection Showcase also plays a significant role in Kunsthaus Bregenz’s concept of itself
and its public reception. In 2015 the exhibition New Acquisitions from Ai Weiwei to Zobernig, showing
highlights from the KUB Collection of contemporary art, was followed by Per Kirkeby. Bricks:
Sculpture and Architecture, which has received considerable attention. The exhibition remains
on display until October 25.
In combination with a broad-based education program that includes, in addition to guided tours,
workshops for all ages and film screenings, the content of contemporary art production is addressed
on the widest range of levels possible. 500 events have taken place so far during 2015.
Scholarly publications and editions, produced for the exhibitions in close collaboration with the artists,
complete the range of Kunsthaus Bregenz’ work. The worldwide distribution of its publications
strengthens the institution’s international profile.
With an estimated total attendance figure of 50,000 visitors in 2015, KUB has continued the positive
figures of the previous year, concluding this year in an extremely satisfactory financial manner. The
Federal State of Vorarlberg contributed 2.55 million Euros in 2015, whilst the institution’s own
revenues will amount to around 1 million Euros, representing nearly 30 percent of the total budget.
Press Coverage 2015
The Communications office plays a significant role in the reception of KUB’s exhibitions. The
exhibitions during 2015 received wide and positive coverage in both the regional and international
media.
The year opened with Rosemarie Trockel’s Märzôschnee ûnd Wiebôrweh sand am Môargô niana më.
All the local media such as Blättle, the NEUE, and Wann&Wo, reported on the exhibition. Christa
Dietrich from Vorarlberger Nachrichten described the exhibition as a »milestone« in the history of the
Kunsthaus. Carina Jielg, in her TV report for ORF, enthused: »The Kunsthaus is staging a sensation.«
Such German daily papers as Allgäuer Zeitung, Goslarsche Zeitung, Mittelbayerische Zeitung,
Offenburger Tagblatt, Reutlinger General Anzeiger, Südkurier, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, and
Westfälische Rundschau all carried reports. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of January 29, 2015
dedicated a whole page to Trockel’s exhibition, headlined »The Uncompromising Artist — Rosemarie
Trockel Is Playing with Us: On Her Sublime Exhibition in Bregenz.«
Numerous articles also appeared in the Swiss media, for example in Sarganserländer,
St.Galler Tagblatt, NZZ, and Südostschweiz, as well as in such art magazines as Kunstbulletin,
monopol, and artline.
Berlinde De Bruyckere, whose exhibition The Embalmer followed, was equally well received in the
media, such as Vorarlberger Nachrichten, NEUE, Kultur, Weekend Magazin, Der Standard, and also
in magazines such as The Gap, Bolero, Art, and artline.
In Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein there were positive reports on The Embalmer in TagesAnzeiger, Schwäbische Zeitung, Westallgäuer, Neue Züricher Zeitung, Thurgauer Zeitung,
St. Galler Tagblatt, and Liechtensteiner Volksblatt, for example. In the Badische Zeitung from April 24
Hans-Dieter Fronz wrote: “The large-scale installation is an incredible visual experience, which
is virtually inexhaustible in all its details.”
One of the highlights of this year was the summer exhibition Joan Mitchell: Retrospective. Her Life and
Paintings. In addition to Vorarlberg based newspapers there was also coverage of the exhibition
in Salzburger Nachrichten, and Tiroler Tageszeitung. Reports in German media included ones
by Augsburger Allgemeine, Schwäbische Zeitung, Südwest Presse, Frankfurter Rundschau,
and Welt am Sonntag. Sigmund Kopitzki from Südkurier wrote on July 31 about Mitchell: »A second
look at these wild impasto compositions reveals more.«
The exhibition was also reviewed in Switzerland and Liechtenstein – examples were Südostschweiz,
Bieler Tagesblatt, taz, NZZ, and Liechtensteiner Vaterland. The number of articles in specialist
journals was striking, these included Architectural Digest, ARTNEWS, artdaily, ARTFORUM,
and monopol. Blau. Ein Kunstmagazin stated: »Joan Mitchell’s life was simply a battle field, the
canvas was merely the site where everything converged.«
The exhibition was frequently mentioned on the radio and television, including Zeit im Bild, SRW 2, B5
aktuell, as well as Ö1 Mittagsjournal.
In addition to the main exhibitions, there was also wide coverage of KUB Arena. Concerning the
first exhibition in KUB Arena’s 2015 program by Trix and Robert Haussmann, Reflexion und
Transparenz, Hochpaterre for example wrote: »This is how the icons of Swiss postmodernism turn
habits of perception upside down. An absolute must!« The following exhibition At 1:1 Scale.* also
received consistently positive coverage: »Self referential, thoughtful, and challenging (...).«
The KUB Arena Summer Program KAMP KAYA feat. KAYA (Kerstin Brätsch, Debo Eilers & Kaya
Serene) & Guests was extremely well received by the media, it received public attention in Wann&Wo,
Vorarlberger Nachrichten, and Vorarlberg heute, amongst others. International online media such
as KubaParis, and e-flux also reported on the project.
KUB 2015
La Biennale di Venezia 2015 —
A Review
Yilmaz Dziewior – Director of Kunsthaus Bregenz from 2009 to the end of January 2015 – was
appointed as commissioner of the Austrian Pavilion for the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. He selected
Heimo Zobernig from Kärnten to stage it – an artist, who has been highly influential not only within
his native art scene, but also as an equally successful protagonist in international discourses on art
and the wider world of exhibitions. For the final show in 2015 Zobernig is to continue the
considerations he began for the Hoffmann Pavilion in Venice, transferring them to KUB’s architecture.
The Vorarlberger Kulturhäuser Betriebsgesellschaft mbH enabled KUB’s staff to attend the opening
celebrations of the Venice Biennale from May 7 to 9. Seventeen members of KUB’s staff had the
opportunity, together with Dr. Werner Döring, Managing Director of KUGES, to become acquainted
with Zobernig’s work in Venice.
KUB 2015
Education, Collaborations, Events
At Kunsthaus Bregenz the Education Department fulfills a fundamental task at the interface between
the work, the audience, and society. The KUB Education team develops customized educational
formats for a diverse audience and covering all age groups. For example, audio guides provide
immediate access to works on display, using statements by the artists themselves, as well as
background information on exhibition concepts and their installation. Particular highlights, specifically
developed for each exhibition, include presentations by the exhibiting artists, guided tours by
the director or the curators, as well as dance, literary, and music events which are frequently
developed in collaboration with other institutions. More than 500 events have taken place to date in
2015, including such diverse formats as the thematic guided tour Textiles & The Tracht, which
included an excursion to the Juppen workshop in Riefensberg during the exhibition by Rosemarie
Trockel, the dance performance Romeu »My Deer« in close collaboration with Berlinde De Bruyckere,
and the Morton Feldman concert in collaboration with the Bregenz Festival on the upper floor of the
Joan Mitchell exhibition.
KUB 2015
Publications
Kunsthaus Bregenz publishes catalogues in close collaboration with the exhibiting artists as well
as renowned graphic designers. The graphic design of the catalogues accompanying the exhibitions
translates both the respective artist’s subject matter and their visual language in such a manner that
each catalogue is not merely a means of providing documentation but also becomes an element of the
work as well as an extension of the exhibition.
The catalogues published in 2015 to accompany the exhibitions by Rosemarie Trockel and Berlinde
De Bruyckere were designed in collaboration with the artists. The comprehensive volume
accompanying the retrospective show of the American painter Joan Mitchell goes beyond just
a consideration of the work; including numerous documents and sketchbooks from the archive of the
Joan Mitchell Foundation, some published for the first time, it enables new perspectives on her life and
work. The book is being published together with Museum Ludwig, Cologne, and in close collaboration
with Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York. A catalogue on Heimo Zobernig, the artist representing
Austria at the Venice Biennale (2015), is also to be published.
The KUB Arena series of publications will be continued by a further volume.
In 2016 the series of catalogues will be continued for the exhibitions by the artists Susan Philipsz,
Theaster Gates, Wael Shawky, and Lawrence Weiner. A new series of publications will be compiling
the projects for KUB Billboards, additionally books of essays and a publication on cultural memory are
being planned.
The publications, which are in principal bilingual (English/German), are not only conceived for sale
in KUB itself but also for worldwide distribution.
KUB 2015
Editions
Exclusive special editions for Kunsthaus Bregenz are a result of close collaboration with artists and
their production processes. In 2015 editions were published to accompany the exhibitions by
Rosemarie Trockel, Berlinde De Bruyckere, and Heimo Zobernig. Developed from the context of
the exhibition and together with the artist, KUB editions are published in limited editions, providing a
unique opportunity to collectors of contemporary art. In 2016 editions will be published to accompany
the exhibitions by Susan Philipsz, Theaster Gates, Wael Shawky, and Lawrence Weiner.
KUB Technical Team
How Are KUB’s Exhibitions Produced?
The point of departure for all projects are the artists’ ideas, which are further developed and defined
in collaboration with the curators. Markus Tembl’s technical team has the task of accurately carrying
out these visions. Making »impossible« projects possible within a strict budget frequently requires
unconventional solutions. Each installation and de-installation is carried out under extreme time
pressure in order that KUB only remains closed for the shortest period possible. To achieve this, the
small team of permanent employees is supplemented by a trusted team of freelancers, as well as
being repeatedly supported by personnel from other institutions, such as when Berlinde De Bruyckere
brought ten additional staff with her who were experienced in dealing with her work. To construct
her large-scale installation Kreupelhout / Cripplewood on the second floor, four doors had to be
removed, because the freight elevator was not big enough to transport the crates and their fragile
contents. For the exhibition of works by Joan Mitchell, exhibits and loans from around the world were
put on display, entailing a total insurance amount of approximately 160 million Euros.
The technical team is not only responsible for the technical aspects of exhibitions but also those of the
entire institution, including the administration building. The building’s facilities are continually changed
and improved. Works, some of which are of considerable weight, are hung directly from the concrete
walls. For example a large-format light box by Jeff Wall weighed 600 kilograms – each of the holes
drilled for it subsequently necessitated elaborate repairs. This requires the technical team to carry out
high quality »cosmetic« repairs to the concrete. Since the opening of Kunsthaus Bregenz
approximately 22,000 holes have been refilled almost invisibly. The distinct terrazzo floor on all four
levels stills looks like new after 18 years. This has been achieved by cleaning the 470 square meters
of exhibition space on each floor daily.
Kunsthaus Bregenz continually enables the visions of artists to become reality, rewriting the limits of
what is both feasible and conceivable – all this is only possible thanks to a trusting collaboration
between the technicians, artists, and curators, as well as the entire team.
KUB Collection Showcase 2015
New Acquisitions from Ai Weiwei to Zobernig
22 | 02 | 2014 — 08 | 02 | 2015
For the first time in the 17-year history of the institution, Kunsthaus Bregenz has presented a small
but exceptional selection from its collection of contemporary art.
Per Kirkeby
Bricks: Sculpture and Architecture
27 | 02 — 25 | 10 | 2015
In 1997 a Per Kirkeby solo exhibition took place at Kunsthaus Bregenz, when the catalogue raisonné
of the brick sculptures and architecture was also published. On this occasion a gift of more than 300
original drawings was received. The exhibition displayed conceptual drawings, sketchbooks, books,
and photographs.
Austrian Art from the Collection of Kunsthaus Bregenz
26 | 11 | 2015 – 10 | 01 | 2016
For the new exhibition at the KUB Collection Showcase, Heimo Zobernig has been invited to select
works from the KUB collection. The exhibition jointly curated by Heimo Zobernig, Thomas D.
Trummer, and Rudolf Sagmeister focuses on painting and sculpture. The display includes works
by Erwin Bohatsch, Herbert Brandl, Elke Krystufek, Maria Lassnig, Ruth Schnell, Franz West, and
Heimo Zobernig, amongst others.
KUB 2015
Friends and Partners
The long-term commitment of the Federal State of Vorarlberg, under whose auspices KUB operates,
has been a fundamental prerequisite for KUB’s successful work. The Vorarlberger Kulturhäuser
Betriebsgesellschaft mbH as central service provider has played a decisive role.
The Association of the Friends of KUB has been a significant partner since the founding of the
institution. The association supports KUB in realizing its concept and in particular the implementation
of its educational program.
During 2015 too, Vorarlberger Kraftwerke AG, the principle sponsor of Kunsthaus Bregenz, has made
a significant contribution to the financing of the large-scale shows of work. Hypo Landesbank
Vorarlberg has also been a long-term KUB sponsor. In addition the Zumtobel company has been a
crucial partner, continually supporting Kunsthaus Bregenz for many years, particularly in implementing
exhibitions and projects involving light. UNIQA is an additional long-term sponsor, who in 2015
provided substantial support for the internationally significant Joan Mitchell exhibition. Further
indispensable partners and sponsors of this show were the Joan Mitchell Foundation, New York, as
well as Cheim & Read Gallery, New York.
In 2016 the support for Theaster Gates’ solo exhibition by Phileas - A Fund for Contemporary
Art, Vienna, deserves particular mention. Additionally in 2016 there will be a collaboration with the
Jüdisches Museum Hohenems for the exhibition by Susan Philipsz.
Art Bodensee, Bodensee-Vorarlberg, Bregenzer Festspiele, inatura, Ö1 Club, Pfänderbahn,
Stadtmarketing Bregenz, Verkehrsverbund Vorarlberg, Vorarlberg Lines Bodenseeschifffahrt,
Vorarlberg Tourismus, as well as the museums involved in the regional cultural axis (Kunstmuseum
St. Gallen, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, and Bündner Kunstmuseum, Chur) have all been
long-term collaborators with the institution.
Kunsthaus Bregenz
Karl-Tizian-Platz | 6900 Bregenz | Österreich
Phone +43-5574-485 94-0 | Fax +43-5574-485 94-408
kub@kunsthaus-bregenz.at | www.kunsthaus-bregenz.at
Opening Times
Tuesday to Sunday 10 am — 6 pm | Thursday 10 am — 8 pm
Summer Opening Times: Monday — Sunday 10 am — 8 pm
Summer Opening Times 2016: 01.07. — 31.08.2016
Admission Prices
Adults 9.– EUR | concessions 7.– EUR | free admission for children and adolescents | Combined
ticket KUB and KUB Collection Showcase
11.– EUR | concessions 9.– EUR | Combined ticket KUB, KUB Collection Showcase, and vorarlberg
museum 15.– EUR | concessions 12.– EUR | Cultural Institutions’ Card 99.– EUR
Information and Registration for Guided Tours
Lidiya Anastasova | ext. -415 | l.anastasova@kunsthaus-bregenz.at
Secretarial Office
Margot Dörler-Fritsche | ext. -409
m.doerler-fritsche@kunsthaus-bregenz.at
Director Thomas D. Trummer General Director Werner Döring Curator Rudolf
Sagmeister Curator KUB Billboards|KUB Projects Eva Birkenstock Marketing | Sponsoring Birgit
Albers, ext. -413, b.albers@kunsthaus-bregenz.at Press| Online Media Martina Feurstein, ext. -410,
m.feurstein@kunsthaus-bregenz.at Education Kirsten Helfrich, ext. -417, k.helfrich@kunsthausbregenz.at · Assistant Lidiya Anastasova Publications| Artist Editions Katrin Wiethege, ext. 416, k.wiethege@kunsthaus-bregenz.at · Assistant Claudia Voit Edition Sales Caroline SchneiderDürr, ext. -444, c.schneider@kunsthaus-bregenz.at Assistant to the Director Beatrice Nussbichler,
ext. -418, b.nussbichler@kunsthaus-bregenz.at Technical Team Markus Tembl, Markus Unterkircher,
Stefan Vonier, Helmut Voppichler Concept by Kunsthaus Bregenz Text Thomas D. Trummer, Birgit
Albers, Eva Birkenstock, Martina Feurstein, Kirsten Helfrich, Rudolf Sagmeister, Katrin
Wiethege Editing Martina Feurstein Proof Reading Artlanguage, Claudia Voit, Katrin Wiethege,
Christiane Wagner Translation Artlanguage, Volker Ellerbeck Image © the photographers, artists, or
their estates Basic Concept Graphic Design Clemens Theobert Schedler, Büro für konkrete
Gestaltung Graphic Design Production Bernd Altenried, Stefan Gassner Paper Munken Polar 120 g,
FSC prepress and image production Boris Bonev, PrePress & PrintService Print Thurnher
Druckerei GmbH