13 December 2022

Insights into the exhibition 'The Fest' at the MAK Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna

Today, Fashion.at attended the press conference on occasion of the new exhibition 'The Fest' at the MAK Museum of Applied Arts Vienna. The first large exhibition in the main venue of the MAK Museum at the Stubenring under the new Director Lilli Hollein received measured on the number of journalists and guests more attention than art exhibition openings in Vienna in general get. For 'The Fest', Lilli Hollein teamed up with guest curator Brigitte Felderer, co-curator Olga Wukounig and the Austrian artist Peter Sandbichler who sculpted from cardboards once used for packagings of bicycles walls and ceiling such as the curved wall on view at the image above.

The dynamics of the room transformations of the 1,480 square meters space of the MAK exhibition halls pull the visitor into a roller coaster-like journey through the topic 'Fest' with art works ranging from paintings, art films like the one by Yinka Shonibare to fashion drawings, films of illustrious fashion parties, and design objects like fashion pieces by Helmut Lang. In the picture above (left) behind the director, the curators and the artist, items from the MAK's own 'Helmut Lang Archive' are on view. Fashion.at joined the press tour through the exhibition with behind the scenes information about the making of such as that Helmut Lang collaborated with the curators for the selection and placement of the items in the exhibition.

Visitors should take time for the exhibition. The best way to explore 'The Fest' is to walk two rounds. The first round is for getting an all-over impression through the experience of the effects of the exhibits' placements in an interplay such as the piece of dining culture, porcelain from the 18th century, with the costume, the mirrors and the wall painting (on view at the picture right) or the harlekin costume, the painting and the pictures of an art film showing a dance performance (image in the middle). The exhibition invites the visitor to linger and let the objects and the installations work their magic.

The second round - preferably with a guide - is for getting insights into the stories behind the artworks and objects shown at 'The Fest'.

The exhibition (on view until 7 May 2023) will be opened today with live music performances by Philipp Quehenberger and Patrick Pulsinger (details).