Spacious sculpture opens in the magnificent baroque Viennese building
Vienna (OTS) – Die Installation Forms through folds (ascending)… by the British artist Cerith Wyn Evans, which can be seen in Vienna’s Karlskirche from January 31, 2024, is the second major project by a contemporary artist as part of the program initiated in 2018 Karlskirche Contemporary Arts. The program, organized, curated and financed entirely privately, combines the baroque church building designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach with contemporary art. The project, which is unique in this form, has already premiered with the installation Aerocene by the Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno received great international recognition in 2019-2020.
Forms through folds (ascending)… is a spacious sculpture designed by Cerith Wyn Evans specifically for the site. Measuring 25 by 15 meters and featuring neon tubes with a total length of almost 700 meters, it is one of the largest works ever produced by Wyn Evans. Over 14 km of rope and 1.5 km of cable had to be installed in order to position the 350 individual glass shapes and supply them with energy. The installation, which weighs over a tonne – suspended from the lantern above the dome – unfolds over almost the entire dome space of the Karlskirche.
Cerith Wyn Evans is known for his use of white neon, which he uses as sign language and drawing in space. His neon works are influenced by various influences from supposedly contradictory systems of thought – such as literature, philosophy, religions, the arts and the natural sciences. These elements fuse, replicate, and fold into dense structures that appear to expand explosively while simultaneously collapsing into fragile entropy. So lets too Forms through folds (ascending)… numerous possible interpretations. Complex shapes unfold before the viewer’s eye, reminiscent of scores, plans or diagrams. Sometimes a dynamic gesture that takes in the surrounding space in all its dimensions, sometimes a static drawing that collages the background, it ultimately remains impossible to grasp either as a whole or in detail.
Karlskirche Vienna: Baroque work of art and tourist attraction
With over 200,000 visitors a year, the Vienna Karlskirche is one of the most visited attractions in Vienna. The installation Forms through folds (ascending)… will now enable them to have a very special experience of the baroque space. “Being able to present contemporary art in this form and dimension in a sacred space that has been used liturgically for centuries is unique not only in Austria but internationally. After Tomás Saraceno in 2019-2020, we were able to win another world-renowned artist, Cerith Wyn Evans, to create a commissioned work for the baroque total work of art Karlskirche. ‘Forms through folds (ascending)…’ is, so to speak, an ode to this unique building and its dome fresco, and like the latter itself, to everything heavenly and transcendent.”
so Moritz Stipsicz, Kurator.
Forms through folds (ascending)… – Second project after international selection process
Forms through folds (ascending)… was selected in an extensive process from numerous proposals from internationally renowned artists who were invited to take part in the program. The decisive factor for the selection of projects – in addition to technical feasibility and monument protection – is the reference to the unique baroque architecture and the use of the Karlskirche as a lively, sacred space. “The Karlskirche is one of the most important examples of sacred baroque architecture in Central Europe. Of course, as an important Catholic church, it is a place of faith community and prayer. But we also see it as a place of encounter and dialogue – with God and of course with people. Presenting contemporary art in this context should encourage an examination of the place in its secular and spiritual function.”
sagt Pater Marek Pučalík, Rector der Karlskirche.
Cerith Wyn Evans
Born 1958 in Llanelli, Wales, UK; lives and works in and outside London; Studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London.
Numerous exhibitions around the world, including Sogetsu Kaikan, Tokyo (2023); Aspen Museum of Art, Colorado (2021); Pirelli Hangar Bicocca, Milan (2019); National Museum Wales (2018); Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2018); Tate Britain, London (2017); Haus Konspektiv, Zurich (2017); Museion Bolzano, Bolzano (2015); Serpentine Sackler Gallery, London (2014); MUSAC, Leon (2008); Institute of Contemporary Art, London (2004); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2004); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and Center Georges Pompidou, Paris (2004); 57th Venice Biennale (2017); 50th Venice Biennale (2003); Documenta 11, Kassel (2002).
His work is represented in numerous public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Tate Modern, London; Center Georges Pompidou, Paris; Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
Karlskirche Contemporary Arts
Karlskirche Contemporary Arts is a long-term program initiated in 2018 that regularly invites renowned, international contemporary artists to develop a large-scale installation that references the unique architecture and baroque furnishings of the Karlskirche, taking into account its function as a living, sacred space takes. The program is a reminder of the long tradition of the Catholic Church as an important patron of contemporary art and is an invitation to continually rediscover this unique architectural monument.
Association of Friends of the Vienna Karlskirche
Karlskirche Contemporary Arts is an initiative of the Association of Friends of the Vienna Karlskirche, a non-profit organization that ensures the ongoing restoration of the Karlskirche. The Karlskirche is considered the most important baroque sacred building north of the Alps and is now one of the most important sights in Vienna with over 200,000 tourist visitors every year. The association would like to thank the Rectorate, the Archdiocese of Vienna and the Federal Monuments Office for the good cooperation.
Questions & Contact:
Karlskirche Contemporary Arts
contact@karlskirche.eu
Sagittarius Public Results
Viktoria Feichtinger
Phone: +43 664 88 31 92 42
E-Mail: vf@schuetze.at