Thesis Exhibition 18|19, Vol. I

The new exhibition space of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna xE provides a venue for presenting the final works of its graduates twice a year. Displayed in a deliberately experimental arrangement of random juxtapositions, the works are characterized by a wide variety of chosen forms of expression as well as different conceptual approaches and thematic focal points.

In Thesis Exhibition 18|19, Vol. I, the excessively poetic works of Barbara Stöhr bug blanket, which address fundamental questions of human existence, find themselves confronted with Nikolaus Lapuch’s painterly pieces based on microscopic observations of natural phenomena and reminiscent of abstract notations and lichen-like forms of vegetation. An intense study of nature also provides the starting point for Andreas Messinger’s photorealistic paintings that, in their consideration for details, unfold an individual and actually abstract language of forms. Veronika Szűcs ventures to retell an episode of the two-thousand-year-old Indian epos Mahabharata in her graphic novel, offering a novel representation of the fictional character Damayanti’s life, whereas Zoe Dewitt’s installation considers the Austrian jewelry designer Cissy Zoltowska’s life from a personal and historico-cultural perspective. And while Michael Gülzow examines parallels between stalking and the methods of research-based art in his short feature film, which was almost completely shot in a green box, Line Finderup Jensen’s ironically critical interactive video animation extends an invitation to a virtual vernissage.

Seen together, the works from the different departments do not only afford insights into the Academy programs’ contents and practices but also allow the exploration of a wide range of issues prevailing in contemporary art.