June–September 2022
The sophisticated system of geometric and chromatic elements that Dóra Maurer created and has been refining over the past 30 years serves as the foundation for with each other. She develops a composition of six colors that dynamise the austere and rectilinear architecture of the building designed by Erich Boltenstern in the form of a mesh of precisely delimited strokes for the façade of the Ringturm, an area of around 4,000 square meters that is prominently visible in Vienna’s urban landscape. This interplay of the six colors is what Maurer refers to as Quod Libet in relation to the vivacious, frequently jovial piece of music; it is a polyphonic and frequently contrapuntal form in which the source melodies echo simultaneously rather than sequentially. Dóra Maurer’s artwork, which alludes to the Central European polyphony, not only adds rhythm to the American Modernist landmark’s historic façade in Vienna’s inner city but also radiates outward from it, whether as a hopeful visual anchor on the summery Danube Canal or as a symbolic lighthouse that reaches beyond the borders.
In her geometric, frequently garishly colored creations, Dóra Maurer, a well-known exponent of the Hungarian neo-avant-garde, pokes fun at the visual habits of her audience. Dóra Maurer, who was born in Budapest in 1937, attended the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts. Her artwork has been displayed in a variety of worldwide exhibition spaces, most notably with a retrospective in 2019 at the Tate Modern in London. She works in a range of media and genres and creates paintings as well as prints, photos, films, and installations. Her series, which look at geometry, color theory, and different theories of perception, combine playfulness and rigor. In addition, the two neighboring countries of Austria and Hungary are also reflected in Dóra Maurer’s biography: Vienna and Budapest were starting points in the artist’s work for several decades, and she lived and worked alternately in both Danube metropolises.
Dóra Maurer: With each other
At the Ringturm from June–September 2022
On display in the Ringturm exhibition centre:
Dóra Maurer, Projekt Buchberg portfolio (1982)
Curator: Philippe Batka
The series “Architecture in the Ringturm” dedicates a sizable personal exhibition to Otto Wagner student István Medgyaszay, which will be on display in the ground-level exhibition area of the Ringturm. This exhibition runs concurrently with Dorá Maurer’s façade installation.
István Medgyaszay: Architect of Hungarian Modernism
July 15–September 16, 2022
Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm, free admission
Closed on public holidays
Schottenring 30, 1010 Vienna
Schottenring 30
1010 Vienna
Austria