VIENNA.- In addition to their solo careers, Jeremias Altmann and Andreas Tanzer have been collaborating for some years on the series grey time – a continually growing collection focused on decay. Last spring, the two draughtsmen and painters broke with their usual practice – they normally work in strict isolation in their studios – in favour of the two-part oil painting Bruchteile (Fractions), which they created in the public galleries of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Across several galleries, they interpreted artefacts from Ancient Egypt to classical antiquity to sixteenth and seventeenth century painting. Working simultaneously on the same painting is a defining element of the collaboration between Tanzer and Altmann.

The exhibition grey time – Fractions of the Museum presents the two paintings in the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities. The diptych is complemented by a sculpture from the grey time series and photographs by Barbara Herbst. The paintings were created directly in front of the original artworks of the Kunsthistorisches Museum; the photographs give insight into their formation in the different galleries.

Displayed next to one of the reference works in the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities, the paintings and photographs encourage visitors to discover new and multifarious connections spanning different collections and genres: between works from classical antiquity, the early modern period and contemporary works; between painting and sculpture; between the past and new creations.

In collaboration with Bildraum 01 (1010 Vienna, Strauchgasse 2), a second exhibition will be shown there from 4 to 29 September 2019; it shows a survey of the series grey time on which the two artists have collaborated since 2013, and thus represents a contextual extension and a counterpart to the exhibition on show at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

His work is determined by the serial examination of different topics, to which Altmann develops his own visual language. In the series YOUNG PROPHECIES, the artist reconstructs his own childhood drawings. At the same time, Altmann is enthusiastic about the inner workings of technical equipment and their morphologic changes over time, which became the starting point for the series MACHINES. His series EAR COLLECTION and HARD WORK question traditions of classical portraiture and the universal approach to artistic production. In addition to numerous other excursions into short film and installation projects, Altmann is dedicated to showing his work internationally; most recently in the Saatchi Gallery / London, his work has been shown in Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, India, Canada and China.

Born in 1989, Jeremias Altmann studied graphics and printmaking at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Since graduating in 2015, he mainly works in graphics and painting. Jeremias Altmann lives and works in Vienna.

Andreas Tanzer situates his artistic work in the pictorial world between the moment of transience and the human aspiration to preserve life. Death, its overcoming and living-life characters, is what drives the depth of his work – as seen in the series "Transience", which was created in 2016. The seemingly living, the preserved and the attempt to sustain life are the thematic focusses of Andreas Tanzers’ work. As memory is fragmented by perception and that the trained eye distorts it, the artist uses cultural-history as well as religious rites and symbols to approach the unclouded view.

The cohesion of his work is seen in the use of picturesque languages and their ingenious composition. Since 2013, Andreas Tanzer works in collaboration with Jeremias Altmann on the series grey time.

Born in 1987, Andreas Tanzer studied painting and graphics at the University of Arts in Linz, which he graduated in 2016 with distinction. Tanzer studied drawing and applied arts in Bristol at the University of the West of England in 2015. His works have been exhibited in England, France, Austria and Russia. Andreas Tanzer lives and works in Vienna.

The photographic work of Barbara Herbst is characterised by her unique eye, devoid of generalisations. In constant proximity to graphics with their diverse forms of application, Barbara Herbst pays special attention to the seemingly casual. In her pictures, she explores atmospheric miniatures of everyday life, the poetic potential of architecture and people at work. With her sensitive interest in materials and surfaces, her photographs often appear as photo-objects with a clear reference to analogue printing techniques.

Born in 1967, Barbara Herbst studied art history, classical archaeology and philosophy at the University of Vienna. Besides her activities as an art educator and lecturer in the field of cultural education, Herbst has worked for many years as a freelance photographer in the field of tension between analogue and digital camera techniques. Barbara Herbst lives and works in Vienna.