Eva Schlegel - Spaces

“Space is my central theme in art—and provides, as it were, the basic motif for the entire exhibition. The subject is supposed to become experienceable for viewers, incidentally, in a more condensed way than ever, across different media.” (Eva Schlegel)

The exhibition Spaces. Eva Schlegel, shown at the Kunsthalle Krems and in the Dominican Church Krems, offers a broad and up-to-date glimpse into the Austrian media and object artist Eva Schlegel’s work. Krems showcases medially diverse works of hers—photographs, videos and installations. These are from the last five years and deal with one of the artist’s central motives: space.

The focus of Austrian media and object artist Eva Schlegel’s work lies in the pictorial realization between photographic objectivity and painterly blurriness. With the help of lead materials or layers or varnish, she transforms photographic immateriality into a material object. She has created a range of series since the 1990s, amongst them the topics porn, clouds, models and architecture. Aside from her photographic work, Schlegel also works with glass and develops installation objects in space.

Eva Schlegel created a glass wall featuring blurry writing for Kunsthalle Krems’ interior in 1998. It transparently connects the central hall with Adolf Krischanitz's exposed concrete ramp. The artist updated the piece in 2017. Schlegel uses blurring as an instrument in her work, thus denying viewers a simple understanding of her content and any form of narration.

“That the materiality of the glass be barely perceptible is essential for this piece for several reasons as my work is also always an investigation of space, both architectural and immaterial. On the one hand, the text seems to float in space, the boundary between appearance and disappearance is not defined, but on the other hand, the glass also enables the overlaying of different texts.” (Eva Schlegel)

Eva Schlegel showcases a new series of large-scale pieces at the Kunsthalle Krems, which address the architecture of interiors, whereas these are mostly art spaces. Due to their being blurry and an emphasis on light in the photograph, the spaces become abstracted forms. The lack of rational levels of observation leads to poetic visual experiences. Schlegel also photographed the Kunsthalle’s large columned hall for this series.

Eva Schlegel gives visitors a glimpse into her cinematic work in the central hall, and transports them into cosmic and infinitely huge spaces. Humans appear to fly—an old dream can be simulated by removing gravity.

The artist shows two large installations featuring mirrors in Krems’ Dominican Church, which became an additional exhibition venue of the Kunsthalle Krems just last year. Coupled with the entire tectonic construction, the formerly religious space can thus be experienced in new ways. The observers’ paths flow through the space, open up and are redirected. The former church’s strict directionality is thereby counteracted.

Eva Schlegel's work revolves around space, reflection, and emptiness versus abundance. All these are central themes of her artistic practice.

Curator: Andreas Hoffer