VIENNA.- As one of contemporary art’s central protagonists, Hans Haacke (b. 1936) redefined the relationship between art and society, and influenced generations of artists. His work remains highly topical and strikingly relevant in today’s world.
Stella Rollig, General Director of the Belvedere: Hans Haacke’s sharp view of institutions, politics, ecology, and society reflects the explosive issues and conflicts of our present, not only calling for critical debate but also demanding us to take a position. Haacke’s artistic work sensitizes us to diversity, freedom of opinion, and democratic values—attitudes of the utmost importance at a time when democracies are coming under siege worldwide.
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From the 1960s onwards, the German-American artist initially reflected on physical, biological, and ecological systems before turning his attention to socio-political structures and subjecting them to a precise, often unsparing analysis. He thus addressed abuses of power, mechanisms of exclusion and inequality, historical-political distortions, the entanglement of public institutions, politics, and the economy, and, not least, anti-democratic tendencies.
As a founding figure of artistic institutional critique, Haacke always pays particular attention to his own field of action, to the implicit and explicit rules and framing conditions of the art world as well as the power dynamics and class relations at work within it. His works draw on sociological methods of observation and inquiry, data-based research, and principles of systemic thinking, but also make a point of involving their audience, making it an essential factor in his investigations.
Luisa Ziaja, curator of the exhibition: This retrospective allows us to rediscover the topicality of Hans Haacke's art and to grasp its significance for the pressing questions of our time: How do capital, ideology, and history influence us? What images, rhetorics, and manipulative strategies does nationalist populism employ? How about the complicity of the art world, but also the critical potential of art?
Almost twenty years after Hans Haacke’s last retrospective in Europe and nearly twenty-five years after the only monographic exhibition of the artist’s work in Austria to date, Belvedere 21 presents a comprehensive exhibition of works from 1959 to today in cooperation with the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.
The show highlights the simultaneous versatility and rigor of this oeuvre—from early paintings and objects, photographs, process-oriented actions, and performances to expansive installations, site-specific interventions, and participatory works. In addition to numerous iconic works, it also has a particular focus on projects that Haacke developed specifically for the Austrian context.
At a time when liberal values are under threat worldwide, Hans Haacke’s pioneering work and the critical potential inscribed within it proves to be more relevant than ever. The retrospective at Belvedere 21 makes it accessible to a broad public and invites visitors to reflect, take a stance, and, not least, to defend the principles of a pluralist society.
The exhibition is being presented in collaboration with the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.
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