This scholarly, 540-page publication presents for the first time a comprehensive overview of each individual exhibition, with the help of previously unpublished photographs, plans and correspondence drawn from public and private archives in many different countries, including the extensive holdings of the Archivio Storico delle Arti Contemporanee (ASAC), Venice.

By News Editor 16 Jun 2013

The list of artists that have represented Austria at the Venice Biennale over the last 120 years includes many of the leading figures of its cultural avant-garde: from Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oscar Kokoschka, through Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Arnulf Rainer and Walter Pichler to Valie Export, Maria Lassnig and Franz West. Its commissioners, given the responsibility of organising their exhibitions, have included individuals such as Josef Hoffmann, Otto Benesch, Hans Hollein, Peter Weibel and Kasper König.

Initiated and edited by this year’s commissioner, Jasper Sharp, the book includes extended essays by historian Philipp Blom and Rainald Franz (MAK), and an extensive illustrated chronology accompanied by short texts by Susanne Neuburger (mumok), Harald Krejci (Österreichische Galerie Belvedere), Antonia Hoerschelmann (Albertina), Günther Holler-Schuster (Neue Galerie, Graz), and Martin Hochleitner (Salzburg Museum).

The book has been designed by leading Austrian graphic designer Martha Stutteregger, and published by Verlag für moderne Kunst in both German and English languages.

Austria and the Venice Biennale 1895-2013
Jesper Sharp (editor)
ISBN-13: 9783869844077
Publisher: Moderne Kunst Nürnberg
Pages: 540

Photo: Lucio Fontana with Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Yuko Ikewada,
Austrian Pavilion, XXXI Esposizione Biennale Internazionale d’Arte, Venice, 1962. Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena – Archivio Arte Fondazione.