THE HALL. PART International Art Residency Austria presents the exhibition persona. fragments of identity from 5 September to 16 October 2026, featuring works by Odie Lap Chun Chow, Edith Karlson, Jakob Lena Knebl, Yein Lee and Paulina Semkowicz, curated by Barbara Horvath.

What defines a persona? A face, a body, a role, or the space in which it appears? The exhibition explores identity as something fluid, constructed and staged, as something that is constantly changing. The five artistic practices approach this question from different perspectives: in her sculptures,
EDITH KARLSON blurs the boundaries between human and animal, transforming portraits into polyphonic interpretations of identity. YEIN LEE’s enigmatic beings move between organic, technological and imaginary forms, whilst JAKOB LENA KNEBL conceives of identity as a mutable state through roles, clothing, objects and staged scenarios. In her painted interiors, PAULINA SEMKOWICZ allows spaces themselves to become vessels of identity and memory. ODIE LAP CHUN CHOW, on the other hand, focuses on forms and imprints, asking whether identity lies in the body, in its trace, or in the space that produces it.

Set amidst a silver grid stage, THE HALL becomes a space of ambiguity – part exhibition, part theatre – in which sculptures appear as actors, bodies and temporary personas.
Faces appear and fade away. Bodies become unfamiliar. Imaginary beings take shape. The spaces around them begin to shape the identities they embody. What we see and what we refer to as ‘a person’ is never stable or fully tangible, but consists of constructed fragments.

Exhibition opening: 5 September 2026, 6–9 pm
Opening hours: Fri 1 pm–6 pm, Sat 12 noon–5 pm and by appointment: welcome@partresidency.at
Artist talk: 5 September 2026, 5.00 pm
Closing event & curator-led tour: 16 September 2026, 5.00 pm

Odie Lap Chun Chow is artist-in-residence at PART from August to September. Edith Karlson will be a guest at PART from December 2026 to February 2027.