Exhibitions 2024

Elmar Trenkwalder’s monumental ceramic sculptures, with their fantastic, exuberant wealth of detail, are reminiscent of magnificent Baroque and Rococo architecture but also of Asian structures. The Austrian artist has been impressing viewers for more than three decades with work of fascinating ambiguity in terms of both content and visuals. His eccentric and radical approach have ensured him a unique position on the interna- tional art scene. After starting out as a painter, Trenkwalder used clay as an independent means of artistic expression as early as the mid-1980s. The development of a construction method that was more architectural than ceramic resulted in the opulent, expansive sculptures that are now in many important museums and collections.

Clothing, work and kitchen utensils, dishes, furniture, grilles and gates – virtually every object of material folk culture is decorated in some way. This exhibition revolves around 23 museum pieces that are linked to the 23 municipal- ities of the Capital of Culture 2024 and which display ornaments or patterns. These varied patterns served as inspiration for the painters at Gmunden to design 23 unique plates. The resulting works illustrate the variety of decorative forms found in the Salzkammergut and bear witness to its rich culture, craftsmanship, and traditions. Patterns help us to localize our identity and demonstrate cultural affinity. At the same time, they are used for beautifi- cation. Weather lines, spirals, zigzags, stars, hearts, or tendrils – ornamental patterns are handed down and reinterpreted over the centuries and across regions. They are not set in stone, but are instead changeable art forms. The Gmunden painters impressively demonstrate here the fruitfulness of combining old patterns with new creative impulses, on plates whose basic form was designed by the ceramic artist Gudrun Wittke-Baudisch in the 1970s.

Kim Simonsson’s life-size “Moss People” immerse visitors in a fantastic world inspired by the Finnish artist’s homeland. His ceramic figures, reminiscent of fairy tales, manga films and computer games, are covered with a surface that looks like moss, which makes them appear mythical and melancholic at the same time. At first glance the figures seem cute. However, the artist creates a dissonance that gives them a special presence and captivates the viewer.

Even before the opening of the Gmundner Ceramics Manufac- tory, green flamed tableware was produced on Lake Traunsee. The presentation of Ernst Grabner’s private collection of Alt-Gmundner faience was realized with the curatorial and design support of OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH. Colorfully painted ceramics with cheerful, lively and rough scenes in the newly opened House of Ceramics tell the story of faience production from the 17th century to the beginning of mass production in 1903.

OPENING HOURS

01.01. – 22.03.2024 | 01.10. – 31.12.2024

Sundays by prior arrangement by telephone
Guided tour every second Saturday of the month at 3pm

23.03. – 30.09.2024 | Do – So | 14:00 – 17:00 Uhr

Thu–Sun 2–5pm (last entry 45 minutes before closing) Guided tour every Saturday at 3pm, Tuesday and Wednesday by prior arrangement by telephone

Tel: 0664 358 483

Rathausplatz 2

4810 Gmunden