Fünf Räume
Overview
Presented across the distinct gallery levels of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Fünf Räume ("Five Rooms") featured site-specific installations by six prominent emerging artists based in Austria—Daniel Domig, Clemens Hollerer, Zenita Komad & Michael Kienzer, Valentin Ruhry, and Esther Stocker. Marking the US debut for most of the participants, the exhibition invited each artist to transform one room within Raimund Abraham’s iconic architectural structure, offering an immersive look into contemporary Austrian art-making across painting, sculpture, and spatial installation.
Project Context & Curatorial Role
As Curator, I directed the overall conceptual framework, spatial distribution, and gallery installation, working directly with the artists to execute new works that re-contextualized Abraham's narrow, multi-level gallery spaces.
The five room-scale installations engaged directly with the building’s complex geometry and verticality. At first glance, evoking the sleek visual language of Minimalism, each installation probed deeper, historically rooted themes within Austrian art history—including technology, political critique, spirituality, and spatial perception.
Five Spatial Interventions:
Daniel Domig: Expressive, architectural painting and sculptural frameworks that challenge physical boundaries.
Clemens Hollerer: Site-specific spatial deconstructions utilizing building materials and geometric lines to disrupt architectural flow.
Zenita Komad & Michael Kienzer: Collaborative conceptual works probing human connectivity, spirituality, and physical form.
Valentin Ruhry: Technical and conceptual installations exploring everyday technology, light, and industrial materiality.
Esther Stocker: Immersive, black-and-white grid environments that break geometric symmetry to alter spatial perception.
Role: Curator
Date: May—September 2011
Location: Austrian Cultural Forum New York, NY
Artists: Daniel Domig, Clemens Hollerer, Zenita Komad & Michael Kienzer, Valentin Ruhry, and Esther Stocker
Photography by David Plakke
