Lower Austria Recognition Award Winners 2024

The State Gallery of Lower Austria is home to visual artists from Lower Austria. A regular part of the annual exhibition program is dedicated to the presentation of the Lower Austrian Recognition Award Winner in visual arts. To date, the works of Recognition Award winners Isolde Maria Joham (2021), Thomas Reinhold (2022), and Franka Lechner (2023) have been shown in solo exhibitions.

Austrian painter and sculptor Josef Kern (b. 1953 in Schiefer/Styria) is the 2024 State of Lower Austria Recognition Award winner in visual arts. People in all their facets serve as the focus of Kern’s art. As a figurative painter, he is one of the representatives of New Painting in Austria. His depictions of nudes follow in the tradition of Austrian masters such as Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. His works are characterized by their sensuality and vitality, nudity and eroticism, beauty and horror. His profound examination of life and death is expressed above all in his still lifes and paintings of nature.

Kern’s series of self-portraits represent a particularly notable facet of his body of work. The artist often depicts himself naked, complemented by symbolic attributes such as a color palette or a monk’s habit. The compositions and framing of his female nudes are also instantly recognizable.

In his sculptural work, man, nature, and ornament merge organically. Plants grow out of body parts or limbs are enclosed in objects. In addition to his sculptures, Kern captures his observations and musings primarily in carved reliefs.

The exhibition presents Kern’s signature works of painting and sculpture from the past four decades and invites visitors to experience his artistic vision through the senses. His self-portraits in particular offer insights into the evolution of his overall body of work.

Josef Kern lives and works in Ottenthal in the Weinviertel region.

Since 1960, the state of Lower Austria has presented cultural awards for exceptional achievements and initiatives. Expert juries confer recognition and distinction awards every year in various disciplines—from architecture to music, to adult education. They reflect the wide range of artistic creativity in Lower Austria. The awards also underline the transregional importance of the honorees.

The Lower Austrian Documentation Center for Modern Art (DOK) in St. Pölten will present this year’s winners of the cultural recognition award in an exhibition from November 28, 2024 to January 12, 2025.

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