LINZ.- What does it mean to be a girl* – then and now? The exhibition Being a Girl*!? From Panel Painting to Social Media explores the changing images and roles of girl*hood – between art-historical tradition and contemporary social politics. Around 160 works spanning eight centuries – from late medieval depictions and bourgeois portraiture to contemporary perspectives – reveal how ideas of girls*, bodies, and identity have evolved, and which notions continue to persist today.

According to prevailing social codes, girls* are expected to be strong, confident, sexy, smart, slim, sexually enlightened, well educated, family- and career-oriented, heterosexual, feminine – yet also cool and independent. This exaggerated ideal reflects the immense pressure placed on female children and adolescents. From an early age, women are taught to view themselves through the “male gaze” – a perspective that pushes them into a passive role. This dynamic is particularly evident in the recurring motif of the painter and his models, which continues to mirror the relationship between gaze, power, and representation to this day.

The imbalance in how girls* are perceived is particularly evident in historical visual traditions – such as depictions of saints, fairy tales, or legends. The exhibition traces a line from these early representations to today’s self-images in the digital age. Here, historical and contemporary role models meet: the well-behaved, self-sacrificing girl who needs to be saved encounters digital representations and new forms of female identity. “Being a Girl*!? brings together artistic positions spanning several centuries that compellingly reveal the complexity and fluidity of how girls* have been portrayed,” says Hemma Schmutz, Director of the Lentos Art Museum Linz. “The exhibition connects social issues with artistic perspectives and highlights how deeply images shape our understanding of identity, the body, and gender roles.”

The exhibition was curated by Brigitte Reutner-Doneus, whose curatorial concept traces how ideas of femininity have been shaped over centuries by social and cultural constructs. “The exhibition highlights how the image of women has historically been defined through external attributions – and how strongly these continue to resonate today,” explains Reutner-Doneus. “From the saints of Christian iconography to the victim figures offairy tales and the self-stagings in contemporary media, a continuum unfolds in which the girl becomes a symbol – of virtue, purity, beauty, or temptation. I am interested in how artists take up, shift, or subvert these attributions – and what new narratives emerge as a result.”

Being a Girl*!?

In nine thematic chapters, Being a Girl*!? unfolds a panorama of female role models: from the symbolic depiction of the “holy girl,” representing purity and virtue, to the image of the “working girl,” which also references the exploitation and abuse of children in various parts of the world, and finally to the “pioneers” of the present and future, who renegotiate vulnerability and strength. A strong emphasis is placed on the empowerment of girls*. The exhibition illustrates how social expectations and media imagery manifest in body language, clothing, gestures, and self-presentation – and how artists respond to, reinterpret, or recontextualize these attributions. The exhibition design by Margit Greinöcker and Tobias Hagleiter translates this conceptual framework into an open, polyphonic space that brings the diverse artistic positions into a dynamic and thought-provoking dialogue.

Artistic Positions and Highlights

Among the roughly 160 works, historical and contemporary voices are presented on equal footing – from Jakob Seisenegger, Martin Johann Schmidt (Kremser Schmidt), Rosa Schweninger, and Albin Egger-Lienz to Pablo Picasso, Dorothee Golz, Marlene Haring, Rosa Rendl, Borjana Ventzislavova, and Rory Pilgrim. Highlights include Ceija Stojka’s Self-Portrait with Tattooed Concentration Camp Number – a haunting testimony to exclusion and existential threat – as well as Picasso’s Portrait of a Spanish Girl, which captures the fleeting impression of a singular moment. Contemporary works such as Anna Breit’s series Teens (in their rooms), Isa Schieche’s Dirty Care, Claire Fontaine’s Double Double (Suzanne Santoro), and Bu Hua’s Fear broaden the perspective on current artistic positions between intimacy, self-representation, self- defense, and empowerment. Together, they create a multilayered dialogue between traditional role models and new forms of female self-representation.

Mayor Dietmar Prammer: “This exhibition raises awareness of equality while opening up new perspectives on history and the present. It demonstrates how deeply cultural narratives shape our sense of self – and how art can help to question them. Being a Girl*!? is therefore not only a contribution to reflection, but also a call for openness, responsibility, and solidarity in a changing society.”

City Councillor for Culture Doris Lang-Mayerhofer also emphasizes the social relevance of the exhibition: “With Being a Girl*!?, the Lentos addresses a topic that concerns all generations. It is about self-empowerment, the visibility of young women, and the importance of seeing equality as a given in our society.”