Fabian Seiz

Private View: 4 September, 6–9pm Artist's talk: 5 September, 7pm

Two organic structures appear to morph into one another, joined by a makeshift umbilical cord. Constructed from a variety of cardboards, tape, and glue, this life size object which recalls both the intimacy of a womb and the uniform structure of a honeycomb labyrinth, appears neither stable nor fragile. Talk to me stranger, a new installation by Fabian Seiz, specially designed for the Austrian Cultural Forum London, invites you into these two anoymous spaces where sounds can be exchanged between one visitor and another. This experiment with communication, not sacred enough for a confessional, yet too claustraphobic for trivial conversation, becomes a fragmented metaphor for language itself.

Materials and their interaction with space is the tension that pervades Seiz’s energetic practice. Effortlessly switching from cardboard, to painting, to video, to photography, sometimes within the space of a day, Seiz’s work highlights both the fragility and possibility of materials. Constructing cryptic objects to resemble functioning machines, these sloppy assemblages from what appears to be scraps of wood and cardboard, always remain purposeless. Even when using the accurate lens of a camera, such as in his installation “one room” at gallery layr:wüstenhagen in Vienna, Seiz utilises the photographic images to distort the surrounding space, and create a fractured experience.

Fabian Seiz, born 1975, lives and works in Vienna, and is one of the most prolific artists of his generation. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna and has had numerous international shows, including the recent “Oben ist wie Unten” at Spielhaus Morrison Gallery in Berlin and “Sauber Malen” at Neue Galerie Studio, Graz. Talk to me stranger will be Seiz’s first solo show in London.

The Visual Arts Platform is curated by Eva Martischnig and Adriana Marques, who are based in Graz (Austria) and London respectively and presents emerging artists form or working in Austria. It aims to explore local, regional and global contexts of contemporary art by generating new links between Austria and the UK through exhibitions, residencies and artist’s talks. The Visual Arts Platform is hosted by the Austrian Cultural Forum London which facilitates exchange between Austria and the UK in the creative fields of music, visual arts, performing arts, as well as in various academic fields. The Visual Arts Platform began in 2006 with exhibitions by Constantin Luser and Judith Fegerl, and continued in 2007 with exhibitions by Markus Wilfling, and mahony.

Fabian Seiz
Talk to me Stranger