Brigitte Kowanz
Brigitte Kowanz (born April 13, 1957 in Vienna, † January 28, 2022 in Vienna ) was an Austrian artist . Kowanz studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna from 1975 to 1980 . From 1997 to 2021 she was professor for transmedia art there.
life and work
Brigittes Kowanz was the daughter of the well-known soccer player Karl Kowanz (1926-1998), her mother Edith worked as a clerk, her older brother Karl (* 1951) became a graphic artist. Brigitte Kowanz graduated from the Kunstgymnasium in Vienna in 1975, then studied – like her brother before her – at the University of Applied Arts and graduated in 1980 with a Magister Artium.
Since the 1980s, Kowanz's work has focused on the investigation of space and light . At the beginning of this exploration, between 1979 and 1984, in collaboration with Franz Graf , he created paper and canvas paintings with phosphorescent and fluorescent pigments. From 1984 Kowanz developed the first light objects made of bottles, fluorescent lamps and fluorescent paint. Complex spatial images and light-shadow projections were created with simple means.
However, light was not only the material, but often also the subject of Kowanz's works. Since 1989 she has been dealing with the speed of light in her own work complex . A tiny decimal number in neon digits indicates the time in seconds that the light needs to cover the length of this row of numbers. One of the themes that Kowanz had also been dealing with since the 1980s was language and writing and their translation into codes . She examined light as a space-forming medium as well as an information carrier and medium of knowledge and visibility.
Since 1995, Kowanz has also regularly used Morse code for coding, starting with simple dash-dot combinations. As a binary code, it represents the origin of information transmission with light. Kowanz used (semi-)transparent glass and mirrors in particular in her more recent works . This led to a diverse superimposition of virtual and real levels in her three-dimensional objects. The reciprocal mirroring of light, language and mirrors (Rainer Fuchs) created hybrid spaces whose boundaries seemed clearly defined one moment, but dissolved the next. Real space and virtual mirror image penetrated each other, the boundaries between artwork and viewer became fluid. The preoccupation with the intangible physics of light, which - although a guarantee of visibility - is itself easily overlooked, continued in the works of Brigitte Kowanz.
Kowanz lived and worked in Vienna, where she died as a result of a long and serious illness.
awards
- 1989 Otto Mauer Prize
- 1991 Prize of the City of Vienna for fine arts
- 1996 Austrian Art Prize for Fine Arts
- 2009 Grand Austrian State Prize for Fine Arts
- 2015 Lower Austrian Culture Prize – Appreciation Prize
- 2018 German Light Art Prize
- 2019 Cairo Biennial Prize
Exhibitions (selection)
- 1984 Aperto , Biennale, Venice
- 1987 Biennale, Sao Paolo
- 1989 Prospect , Kunstverein Frankfurt
- 1990 Sydney Biennial
- 1993 Vienna Secession (solo exhibition)
- 1995 New Berlin Art Association (NBK), Berlin
- 2000 Color to Light , Fondation Beyeler , Basel
- 2001 Austrian Contemporary Art Exhibition , Shanghai Art Museum
- 2004 City Light - Light Art , Lehmbruck Museum , Duisburg
- 2006 Light art from artificial light , ZKM , Karlsruhe
- 2007 Kunsthalle Krems (solo exhibition)
- 2010 MUMOK, Museum of Modern Art , Vienna (solo exhibition)
- 2011 Gallery in the Taxispalais , Innsbruck (solo exhibition)
- 2012 Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma (MACRO), Rome
- 2012 Boruzan | Contemporary , Istanbul (solo exhibition)
- 2013 Light Show , Hayward Gallery , Southbank Centre, London
- 2013 Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York
- 2015 Light Show , Museum of Contemporary Art , Sydney
- 2017 La Biennale di Venezia , Austrian Pavilion
- 2018 Contemporary Art , Albertina Vienna
- 2019 Cairo Biennale, Cairo
- 2020 Brigitte Kowanz - Lost under the Surface , Museum Haus Konstruktiv , Zurich
Art in public space (selection)
- 1995/99 Peter Merian House , East Station, Basel
- 1999 Lünerseepark, retail park Bürs
- 1999/2000 ARD Capital Studio, Berlin
- 2001 BUWOG, Vienna
- 2001/2004 Jacob Burckhardt House, Basel
- 2002/2004 LGT Liechtenstein, Vaduz
- 2003/2004 State Music School Windischgarsten
- 2003/2005 DKV, Cologne
- 2006-2007 Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Münster
- 2007–2008 Liaunig Museum , Neuhaus
- 2009/2010 Volksbank AG, Vienna
- 2010/2011 State Bridge, Salzburg
- 2010/2012 Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz (art in architecture)
- 2014–2019 Light band for the MQ Libelle in Vienna 's MuseumsQuartier , planned
- 2016 Dorotheum , Vienna
- 2017 Museum im Palais , Graz
- 2017 Norges Musikkhøgskole, Oslo
- 2017 Post am Rochus, Vienna
- 2018 Klimt Foundation , Vienna
- 2020 Circles of Light, MQ Libelle in Vienna 's MuseumsQuartier
- 2021: Brigitte Kowanz. Submerged , Albertina , Vienna (Red Carpet Showroom at Karlsplatz)
Works in museums and public collections (selection)
Austria
- Albertina , Vienna
- Museum of Lower Austria , St. Pölten
- Jewish Museum Vienna , Vienna
- Lentos Art Museum Linz
- Museum of Applied Arts , Vienna
- Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna
- Belvedere , Vienna
- Essl Collection , Klosterneuburg
- Tyrolean State Museum , Innsbruck
International
- Borusan Art Collection , Istanbul
- Fundacion ARCO (Madrid)
- Kunsthalle Weishaupt , Ulm
- Celle Art Museum
- Museion (Bolzano)
- Fine Art Museum (Caracas)
- Museum Ritter (Waldenbuch)
- Schauwerk Sindelfingen
Literature (selection)
- Beate Ermacora, Gregor Jansen: Brigitte Kowanz - in light of light. Publishing house for modern art, Nuremberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-86984-283-7 .
- Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz: Think outside the box. Verlag Das Wunderhorn, Heidelberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-88423-388-7 .
- Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz. Now I see. Publishing house for modern art, Nuremberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-86984-141-0 .
- Agnes Husslein-Arco, Gerald Bast (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz: ad infinitum. Belvedere, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-901508-42-4 .
- Galleria Contemporaneo, Mestre (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz. Dario De Bastiani Editore, 2007, ISBN 978-88-8466-105-0 .
- University of Applied Arts, Vienna (ed.): more L978T. Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-85211-131-5 .
- Christian Reder: Inquiring ways of thinking. Essays on artistic work (on Brigitte Kowanz and others), Edition Transfer by Springer, Vienna/New York 2004, ISBN 3-211-20523-3 .
- Wolfgang Häusler (ed.): Another time another place, Brigitte Kowanz. Munich 2002, ISBN 3-9808494-0-6 .
- Wolfgang Häusler (ed.): Zeitlicht-Lichtraum, Brigitte Kowanz. Hatje-Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit 2001, ISBN 3-7757-9108-6 .
- University of Applied Arts Vienna (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz. Illuminate the meantime of the shadow jump. Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-85211-064-5 .
- light is what you see. Brigitte Kowanz. Triton Verlag, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-901310-77-0 .
- Vienna Secession (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz. Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-900803-63-3 .
web links
- Artist's website
- Gallery Krinzinger
- Häusler Contemporary, Munich and Zurich
- Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, New York
- Trailer: Brigitte Kowanz at the 57th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia
- Radio recording with Brigitte Kowanz and others in the archive of the Austrian Mediathek
itemizations
- ↑ Light artist Brigitte Kowanz died at the age of 64 , kurier.at, January 30, 2022
- ↑ Brigitte Kowanz m.munzinger.de, accessed January 31, 2022
- ↑ Riccardo Caldura: Adherence, relational opening: elements for reflection. In: Museum of Modern Art Foundation Ludwig Vienna (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz. Now I see. Publisher for modern art, Nuremberg 2010, pp. 218-232.
- ↑ Christian Reder: Light = measure = form = existence - On Brigitte Kowanz and working with codes. In: Reder, Christian: Researching ways of thinking - essays on artistic work. Vienna/ New York, 2004, pp. 25–34.
- ↑ Rainer Fuchs: Precise specification of the limitless. In: Museum of Modern Art Foundation Ludwig Vienna (ed.): Brigitte Kowanz. Now I see. Publisher for modern art, Nuremberg 2010, pp. 32-38.
- ↑ Light artist Brigitte Kowanz died. In : ORF.at. January 30, 2022, retrieved January 31, 2023 .
- ↑ 2015 – Culture Prize Winners of the State of Lower Austria ( Memento from November 7, 2015 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ Brigitte Kowanz - Lost under the Surface
- ↑ Brigitte Kowanz. submerged Albertina, retrieved January 9, 2022 .
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Kowanz, Brigitte |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian artist |
BIRTH DATE | April 13, 1957 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
DATE OF DEATH | January 28, 2022 |
PLACE OF DEATH | Vienna |