Maria Lassnigs Körperkunst
Maria Lassnig was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. To mark her 100th birthday, the Albertina is dedicating a retrospective to the Austrian painter.
Maria Lassnig (1919-2014) came to fame only late in life. Above all, she became truly well known for her "body awareness pictures", in which she transferred her body awareness to the painting. At the end of the 1940s, she was placing her own body at the focal point of her art – long before body awareness, body language and the relationship between man and woman became central themes of the international avant-garde movement. This also included nude paintings, in which the artist portrayed herself at an advanced age. Her art was denounced during the Nazi period for being "degenerate". Maria Lassnig may have changed her style many times during her long creative period but never her topic. It is not what she sees but how she feels that becomes her picture.
"It is the art, of course, that makes me ever younger, it makes the spirit first hungry and then satisfied," said Maria Lassnig. She would have turned 100 years old in 2019. To mark the occasion, the Albertina is dedicating a comprehensive retrospective to the important artist. The exhibition "Ways of Being" shows the impressive main and key works of Lassnig, including "Du oder Ich" and "Woman Power".
Maria Lassnig - Ways of Being, September 6 – December 1, 2019
www.albertina.at