Curator: Prof. Karlheinz Essl
Exhibition management: Andreas Hoffer, Günther Oberhollenzer

With more than 7000 works by international contemporary artists, the collection of Karlheinz and Agnes Essl offers a unique view on contemporary art. Austrian painting after 1945 forms the core of the collection, which was extended in the 1990s to include international artists. This offers a great opportunity for comparisons between Austrian and international artistic stances.

>CORSO< represents a cross-sectional view of the collection with the collector providing personal highlights and emphasising focus areas in the collection programme. Artists whose paintings are presented in exciting juxtaposition include Maria Lassnig and Kiki Kogelnik, Markus Prachensky and Pierre Soulages or Morris Louis, Sam Francis and Hans Bischoffshausen. An entire room is devoted to the work of the late German painter Sigmar Polke.

FRIEDENSREICH HUNDERTWASSER (492) Byzantinisches Labyrinth, 1961 Egg tempera on paper 73 x 61 cm Photo: Photoatelier Laut, Wien © 2010, GRUENER JANURA AG/Glarus, Schweiz	OTTO MUEHL Aktionsmalerei, Kreuz, 1962 Dispersion on paper 286 x 236 cm Photo: Mischa Nawrata, Wien © VBK, Wien, 2010

Another thematic focus is on artists from the period of Vienna Actionism, including names such as Hermann Nitsch, Günter Brus, Alfons Schilling and Adolf Frohner. Special attention will be paid to the work of Otto Muehl, including action paintings and photographs of his action painting sessions from the 1960s.

The exhibition is rounded off by photographic work by VALIE EXPORT and Cindy Sherman as well as by sculptures and objects by Johannis Avramidis and Franz West.

>CORSO< offers a representative overview of the holdings of the Essl private collection and was developed as a response to the wish voiced by many visitors to see parts of the collection permanently on display.

SIGMAR POLKE Indianer mit Adler, 1975 180 x 149 cm Photo: Archiv Sammlung Essl © Nachlass des Künstlers	VALIE EXPORT SMART EXPORT, 1970 / 2000 b/w Photo 71,5 x 63 cm Photo: Courtesy Galerie Charim, Wien © VBK, Wien, 2010

Educational program

The art education team offers guided tours and workshops during the exhibition, a guided tour >CORSO< every Sunday at 11.00a.m. Please access the current calendar of events at Kunstvermittlung.

Free bus shuttle

Visitors can reach the Essl Museum conveniently by free bus shuttle from Vienna city centre, Albertinaplatz 2 (Tues – Sun, 10 a.m., 12 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and return)

Press and Public Relations Office:

Erwin Uhrmann (head): +43 (0) 2243/370 50 60, uhrmann@essl.museum
Regina Holler-Strobl: +43 (0) 2243/370 50 62, holler-strobl@essl.museum