The Present of Modernism

In our new presentation of our collection, The Present of Modernism, mumok explores the grand utopian project of modernism, asking as to its relevance today and its potential for future generations. This new presentation includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, films, and architectural models. The show begins with classical modernism, early abstract art and futurism, and works by Picasso or Bauhaus artists. These are contrasted with the 1960s avant-gardes, works by Daniel Buren or Michelangelo Pistoletto, post-minimal art, and also more contemporary work by Isa Genzken, Christopher Wool, or Simon Starling, in which modernism’s visual repertory is reexamined.

The presentation also focuses on architecture and construction, dance and movement, masks, and a critical investigation of the institutional frameworks of modernism. The presentation includes works that are seldom seen, like Josef Hoffmann’s collection of drawings or architectural models by Adolf Loos, Le Corbusier, and Fritz Wotruba, presented alongside mumok classics. The combination of older and younger generations also includes a number of Austrian artists, such as Walter Pichler, Dorit Margreiter, Florian Pumhösl, and Anna Artaker.