Two-part exhibition at Kunsthalle Krems and Dominikanerkirche Krems

Austrian sculptor, graphic artist and media artist Hans Kupelwieser is one of the most important multimedia artists of his generation. His works range from photograms and sculptures to room-filling installations. He uses a wide variety of media and materials. These range from paper to metal, plastic, concrete, rubber and glass. His working processes are about expanding the boundaries of genres and exploring technical possibilities. Kupelwieser engages with theories of perception as well as architectural issues.

Hans Kupelwieser has developed a temporary installation for the Dominican Church in Krems. Using a large wooden sculpture, he mirrors the cross-ribbed construction of the ceiling of the Gothic church onto the floor of the central nave. The medieval building elements become a walk-in work of art, bringing the historic architecture of the church interior to life. The work in the choir is a tribute to Galileo Galilei. It is made up of eight Plexiglas steles with concave and convex magnifying glasses of different radii. Like looking through a telescope, the position of the steles reveals hidden details of the church.

Kupelwieser is showing ten large-format works at the Kunsthalle Krems. They are the result of his experimental work with the photogram. Since the early 1980s, Kupelwieser has been using this technique to fuse objects with photographic paper directly and without a camera, using only light.

Kupelwieser has placed two sculptures on the Museumsplatz that illustrate his experimental approach to materials: an oversized, high-pressure inflated aluminum cushion and a dynamic work in polished stainless steel. This group of sculptures is complemented by an augmented reality object. The wooden sculpture from the Dominican Church is projected onto the museum plaza using augmented reality. As in the Dominican Church, visitors can walk around and interact with the virtual sculpture in real time.

Hans Kupelwieser was born in 1948 in Lunz am See, Lower Austria. He lives and works in Vienna, Austria. His work is represented in numerous international museums and collections. Among other things, he developed the lake stage in Lunz. In 2008 Kupelwieser was awarded the Lower Austrian Culture Prize.

Curator: Andreas Hoffer