Jude Broughan
Vince Contarino
Brent Everett Dickinson
Rob Fischer
Ryan Ford
Egan Frantz
Rico Gatson
Robin Kang
Steven and William Ladd
Sarah Lee
Christopher McDonald
Ann Pibal
Lisa Sigal
Shelly Silver
Reid Strelow
Siebren Versteeg
Letha Wilson
Tamara Zahaykevich
John Silvis
The exhibition offers an insight into the work of 19 young artists from New York: they all work with familiar media such as painting, photography, sculpture etc., but they change the formal parameters, combining materials such as concrete and photography.
Curated by John Silvis
Exhibition Organisation: Eva Köhler and Andres Hoffer
New York, often described as the world capital of
contemporary art, is the focus of exhibition activity
in the Essl Museum this autumn.
>NEW. NEW YORK< offers an insight into the work
of 19 young artists from New York. A vibrant young
art scene has developed in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in
recent years, with numerous ateliers, culture
initiatives and alternative art spaces. It is here that
the American artist and curator John Silvis made his
selection of artists for the coming exhibition in the Essl Museum.
All 19 artists are at different stages of their careers; what they share is that they use familiar
materials and media in their work in an often surprising form, and in doing so produce
“something new” in order to distinguish themselves from the traditional art canon and to
develop their own forms of artistic expression. They all work with familiar media such as
painting, photography, sculpture etc., but they change the formal parameters, combining, for
example, materials such as concrete and photography in a refreshing way. Through this their
works deconstruct existing art genres, take material to an unaccustomed purpose and revive
old technologies without turning this into a programme.
In the second half of the 20th century in particular, the New York art world set the shape of
art internationally, starting with abstract expressionism, through minimalism, concept art, pop
art, video and performance art. There is still a greater cultural and intellectual diversity in
New York than in any other city.
New York is also the city where Agnes and Karlheinz Essl got to know each other in 1959 and
where they discovered their undiminished passion for contemporary art. In the Essl Collection
there are therefore numerous New York references, for example in works by Alex Katz, to
whom an exhibition is dedicated in the Essl Museum until 6 January 2013.
With >NEW. NEW YORK<, the collectors would like to focus on young art creation and present
the current developments in the fruitful 21st century New York art scene. The exhibition takes
place as part of the “Emerging Artists” series, in which the Essl Museum presents young art
works from the most varied areas of the world in a two-year cycle. Deutsche Bank Stiftung is,
like in former years, partner and main sponsor of the >emerging artists<.
The curator John Silvis is himself represented in the Essl Collection with his own works. He
studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Vienna under Arnulf Rainer and today lives and works in
New York. He manages the NYCAMS there, an academy for scholarship holders from US art
academies, and is very well integrated in the scene.
Participating artists
Jude Broughan, Vince Contarino, Brent Everett Dickinson, Rob Fischer, Ryan Ford, Egan
Frantz, Rico Gatson, Robin Kang, Steven and William Ladd, Sarah Lee, Christopher
McDonald, Ann Pibal, Lisa Sigal, Shelly Silver, Reid Strelow, Siebren Versteeg, Letha
Wilson, Tamara Zahaykevich
>NEW. NEW YORK< will be opened as part of the Vienna Art Week 2012* and is
accompanied by a varied framework programme:
>NEW. NEW YORK< – PANEL DISCUSSION
New York – Capital of Art? Art production between the market and discourse
Thursday, 22 November 2012, 5 p.m.–7.30 p.m.
In the Dorotheum Wien auction rooms, Dorotheergasse 17, 1010 Vienna, Austria
For decades New York has been considered the world capital of fine art. The discussion with
artists will explore the extent to which art in New York is still setting international standards
and how the production conditions for young artists have changed: is New York still the city
that leads the international discourse in contemporary art? Or have things shifted in the global
space? Is the market stronger than the discourse? Are there location-specific features of an art
scene that are directly adopted by other scenes? How does a local scene assert itself in global
space? Against this background, what is the importance of the art scene in Brooklyn?
Taking part in the discussion: John Silvis, curator and artist, New York; Judith Eisler, artist,
Vienna and New York; Shelly Silver, artist, New York; Ryan Ford, artist, New York.
Chair: Robert Punkenhofer
>NEW. NEW YORK< – FILM NIGHT
New. New York – Long Night of the Young American Art Film
Friday, 23 November 2012, 9 p.m. (to 2 a.m.), admission: 5,- Euro
Gartenbaukino, Parkring 12, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Films by Shelly Silver, Christina Choe, Sophia Takal, Willem Lee, Christopher McDonald,
Ryan Ford, Beck Underwood and Brennan Vance.
A cooperation between the Gartenbaukino and the Essl Museum in the context of the
exhibition >NEW. NEW YORK< curated by John Silvis, artist and curator, New York.
Detailed Program from 7 November 2012 at: www.essl.museum/film
SPECIALS
Catalogue
A catalogue will be published for the exhibition with an interview with Prof. Agnes Essl and texts by John Silvis,
Donald Johnson-Montenegro, TK, Max Kafft, Michael Wilson, Andrea Codrington Lippke, Debora Kuan, Elisabeth
Kley, Stephanie Cristello, Gabriel Bennett, Christopher Norton, Frances Richard, Steven Stewart and Geoffrey
Young.
Tumblr exhibition blog
In the >NEW. NEW YORK< Tumblr, curator John Silvis documents his preparation for the exhibition and the
cooperation with the emerging artists: http://newnyc.tumblr.com/
Art education
The art education team offers guided tours and workshops on the exhibition. There is a special >NEW. NEW
YORK< guided tour every Sunday at 11 a.m.
Further offers on the exhibition can be found at: www.essl.museum / Kunstvermittlung.
Free shuttle bus
Visitors can use the free shuttle-bus service from the centre of Vienna, Albertinaplatz 1. Tuesday – Sunday, 10
a.m., 12 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.; return from the Essl Museum at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
* VIENNA ART WEEK 2012
From 19 to 25 November 2012, international museum directors, curators, collectors, critics and artists are
meeting personalities from the Vienna art scene for the eighth time to discuss current tendencies in art and in the
art discourse.
Vienna art institutions, museums and galleries as well as numerous programme partners of the Art Cluster Vienna
from the off-space scene offer an exciting programme. The spectrum ranges from special guided tours to special
exhibitions, to the Gallery Weekend, panel discussions, lectures, extended artists’ discussions, exhibition openings,
installations, interventions and performances to selected events in private companies that promote contemporary
art.
Image: EGAN FRANTZ, Sequence 3, 2011. Installation view, Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York. Photo cedit: Blake Rayne © & photo: the artist
Press office:
Erwin Uhrmann (head), uhrmann@essl.museum, +43 (0) 2243/370 5060
Regina Holler-Strobl, holler-strobl@essl.museum, +43 (0) 2243/370 5062
Press Conference: Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 10 a.m. (in presence of the artists)
Opening:Thursday, November 22, 2012, 07.30 p.m.
ESSL MUSEUM – Contemporary Art
An der Donau-Au 1, A-3400 Klosterneuburg / Vienna, Austria
Opening hours: TUE – SUN 10.00 – 18.00, WED 10.00 – 21.00
Tickets Essl Museum: regular € 7,- und reduced € 5,-