A Mind of Their Own

Artist list

AND_i, Eva Afuhs, Elisabeth Altenburg, Andrea Auer, BLESS, Isolde Baumhackl-Oswald, Birgit Wiesinger/Eva Tesarik, Sonja Bischur, Susanne Blin, Gunda Maria Cancola, Petr Dvorak, Benedikt Fischer, Verena Formanek, Pia Groh, Ursula Guttmann, Elisabeth Habig, Susanne Hammer, Margit Hart, Brigitte Haubenhofer-Salicites, Anna Heindl, Christian Hoedl, Alexandra Hofer, Paul Iby, Elisabeth J. Gu. Defner, Ulrike Johannsen, Beatrix Kaufmann, Michelle Kraemer, Gabriele Kutschera, Brigitte Lang, Erika Leitner, Jaqueline I. Lillie, Andrea MAXA Halmschlager, Gerti Machacek, Theresa Macourek, Doris Maninger, Stephie Morawetz, Martina Mühlfellner, Anita Münz, Viktoria Münzker Ferus, Nadine Pramhas, Konstanze Prechtl, Ulrich Reithofer, Anna Riess, Eva Schmeiser-Čadia, Veronika Schwarzinger, Ina Seidl, Claudia Steiner, Bernhard Stimpfl-Abele, Waltrud Viehböck, Ulrike Zehetbauer-Engelhart, Petra Zimmermann, paula.paul

Emphasis is placed on the female protagonists of this period, whose works are presented in relation to specific roles assumed by the middle and young generations of both sexes. This exhibition illustrates the diverse developments in the exciting and heterogeneous jewelry scene developed in Austria, thanks to some specific circumstances. Here we are referring, among other things, to the history of the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop), using the human body as both a subject and object in the visual arts and the unique attitude to education in this country. The title is a reference to the exhibition Willful Art: Contemporary Art by Women, 1985 at the Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts (Museum of the 20th Century), Vienna. It was conceived and organised by Ursula Guttmann, Susanne Hammer, and Gabriele Kutschera.

Since the late 1960s, the so-called author jewellery has increasingly internationally established as an art form. This not only manifests itself in the use of new materials and techniques, but it also reflects and interprets the social, cultural, and aesthetic developments of its time. The focus is usually placed on one concept: the use of jewelry as a medium for a statement. Moving away from the notion that jewelry is purely decorative, we see it, therefore, assuming the form of independent and idiosyncratic objects. This exhibition aims to bring to life developments that have shaped today’s jewelry scene in Austria and to establish cross-connections between jewelry works from the early years and those of contemporary artists. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by Arnoldsche Art Publisher.

Now, for the first time, the Museum Angerlehner is showing contemporary jewellery, demonstrating a change in perspective. The exhibition and the accompanying publication show how female artists have played a decisive role in shaping the widely acclaimed jewellery scene of Austria’s avant-garde. All this becomes clear not only through their works but also in their influence on subsequent generations of jewellery makers.