Benjamin Hirte

In his installation, Benjamin Hirte reacts to specific conditions and forms of presentation that he discovered in the MAK Collection. His poetic and humorous staging allows ideas of the applied to also be perceived from subjective vantage points. Objects and structures from various categories of both artistic and design output are brought together intuitively and orchestrated within the space. Elements taken from found objects, standard utilitarian items and designer chairs from the MAK all flow into Benjamin Hirte’s sculptural production process. In the space, Hirte blurs the boundaries between museum exhibition practice and an artist’s narration, functional display, archived objects and the inclusion of his own works. His dialog-oriented experimental designs suggest not least the question of just who can learn from whom: the visitors from the museum, or the museum from its visitors?

SICHTWECHSEL / NEW LOOK The NEW LOOK series invites four young Vienna based artists to produce an exhibition within the space of the MAK Study Collection and relating to the specific question: “What is applied art?” This query plays an important and active role within the work of many contemporary artists. The installations and strategies developed for NEW LOOK will be integrated as active, participative contributions to the discourse aimed specifically at the re-conception of the MAK Study Collection, which is set to reopen in 2014. For 2012 and 2013, solo exhibitions by Kathi Hofer, Kerstin von Gabain and Verena Dengler are planned.

Curator Janina Falkner