The 80s are the most important decade for the art of our age. For the first time, art was no longer determined by an all-dominant style, such as abstraction or Pop. The 80s stand out for an unprecedented stylistic pluralism that resorted to the picture pool of past decades: the 80s were the cradle of Postmodernism.
After the years of Minimalism and Conceptual Art, the New Wild Ones satisfied the hunger for pictures with their Neo-Expressionist painting. Jeff Koons discovered kitsch. Francesco Clemente resorted to ancient mythology, while Julian Schnabel shattered the picture proper with his material collages. Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo sought to disappoint expectations as to permanent artistic innovation by attacking the fetish of art’s originality. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring became the epitome of artistic nonconformity. The feminist art of Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer declared war on male dominance and the obsessed consumerism of American society. And for the first time, Austrian art, such as that of Franz West, Brigitte Kowanz, and Erwin Wurm, seamlessly blended in with contemporary international art.
Albertina modern
Die ALBERTINA MODERN zählt zu den größten Museen für die Kunst der Moderne und der Gegenwart. Am 27. Mai 2020 eröffnete der zweite Standort der ALBERTINA, der über eine Sammlung von über 60.000 Werken von 5.000 Künstler:innen verfügt. Auf über 2.000 Quadratmeter präsentiert die ALBERTINA MODERN umfassende Ausstellungen moderner und zeitgenössischer Kunst, deren Ausgangspunkt die eigenen Bestände und vor allem Hauptwerke der seit 2017 in der ALBERTINA beheimateten Sammlung Essl sind.
The 80s. Art of the Eighties
10 Oct 2021 - 13 Feb 2022
Isolde Joham Electric Rider, 1981 Privatsammlung © Isolde Joham | Foto: Olga Pohankova