Faceless pt. 1

wiiii it was probably one of the most discussed exhibitions of the year.

The exhibition “FACELESS part I”, opening at freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL/MQ on July 3 at 19:00, presents contemporary works from the worlds of art and fashion in which faces are hidden, transformed, or masked. In addition to some one hundred works by artists including Marina Abramović, Thorsten Brinkmann, Asger Carlsen, Shahram Entekhabi, David Haines, Ren Hang, Ute Klein, Nienke Klunder, Manu Luksch, Slava Mogutin, Mustafa Sabbagh, Jan Stradtmann, and Levi van Veluw, the show features masks by designers like Maison Martin Margiela, Jun Takahashi for UNDERCOVER, and Katsuya Kamo for Junya Watanabe’s COMME des GARÇONS.

Lady Glittersky, 2009, C-print, 121x92cm © Thorsten Brinkmann, VBK, Wien 2013 und VG Bildkunst Bonn 2012

For artist Bogomir Doringer (SRB/NED), curator of the exhibition together with Brigitte Felderer from the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the exhibition was chiefly inspired by the sociopolitical consequences of 9/11. As the value of facial identifiability has risen, abstracted forms and representations of faces have become increasingly common in artistic production. Bogomir Doringer, for one, has been exploring the theme of facelessness in fashion and art for
years. “Our unstable identity yearns for a return to the mask,” he says. “Like in times past, we are attracted to wearing masks as a form of protection or camouflage, as a prop, or just for entertainment.”

well now that is all very very good and great.

one question thoug - and dont get this wrong! i really loved the exhibtion!! - but dont you think its a bit easy to just take big names and brands and start an exhibition? its bound to have succsess no?

but then again my friend Claudia said - maybe they didt it because its the first part of an exhibition row still to come and they wanted to attract people - well they did :) well done!

Bernd Oppl

marina abramovic

Margiela 

Gareth Pugh

MB