Flower Power

Why is the Virgin Mary often depicted with a lily? Why does Eve pick an apple? And why was a tulip the cause of the first stock market crash in the seventeenth century? Works from the Gothic period to the present shed light on the symbolic meanings of plants and reveal how deeply nature is embedded in our cultural concepts and practices.

Plants provide us with food and the air we breathe. Not only do they make our material existence possible, they have also always carried meanings and messages. In many cultures they are symbols of love, life, death, or transience.

Drawing on works by prominent Austrian and international artists in addition to cultural-historical objects and natural-science findings, the exhibition portrays the cultural history of around eighteen selected edible, useful, and ornamental plants. It outlines how the origin, dissemination, and use of plants have altered the world, why wars were fought or people were enslaved because of plants. Apples, lilies, sunflowers, and cotton are represented in the exhibition, along with wine, tobacco, and the crown imperial, a plant that became a symbol of power and wealth in the Baroque period. It was planted in the gardens of European nobles as a sign of their position and influence. Its majestic appearance and the demanding care it required underline the high status of those who could afford this plant.

The exhibition is a visually powerful homage to the plant world. It addresses the importance, significance, and influence of plants on people’s lives and seeks to contribute to a deeper appreciation of nature as a whole.

The exhibition presents works by important artists from various centuries, such as Albert Birkle (1900–1968), Thomas Feuerstein (b. 1968), Andreas Gursky (b. 1955), Johanna Kandl (b. 1954), Johann Knapp (1778–1833), Hans Kupelwieser (b. 1948), Herlinde Kölbl (b. 1939), Franziska Maderthaner (b. 1962), Alois Mosbacher (b. 1954), Johann Michael Rottmayr (1656–1730), Christa Sommerer (b. 1964) & Laurent Mignonneau (b. 1967), Timm Ulrichs (b. 1940), Maja Vukoje (b. 1969), Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793–1865,) and Andy Warhol (1928–1987). Also featured in the exhibition are Renate Bertlmann (b. 1943) and Anna Jermolaewa (b. 1970), two important Austrian artists who represented Austria at the Venice Art Biennale.

Algae, apple, banana, cotton, grain, spices, poisonous plants, coffee, crown imperial, potato, lily, poppy, rose, sunflower, tobacco, tomato, tulip, wine

Curators: Gerda Ridler, Martin Pfosser