The story of the art residency in Mallnitz

First day – First contact

The art residency in Mallnitz in the Spittal an der Drau District in Carinthia, Austria, organized by Association d. fleiss & east west artist e.V. Dresden and Pro Arte Kunstverein Mallnitz was already known for a certain ethos: it offered the artists work spaces for research and experimenting, it encouraged creative encounters in order to create new contacts, either with other artists, or with a specific environment. Opening and access for all artists, of all nationalities, were also a fundamental postulates for DFEWA. From the beginning, the residency organized by Dorothea Fleiss aimed to facilitate exchanges between East and West, to create poles between the two art markets, to facilitate encounters and even confrontations of ideas between the artists. One can imagine the residencies in Mallnitz like arenas where “artistic fights” took place between artists, not between gladiators. In order to have a successful career, artists should be willing to travel and “face” other artists.

On the first day, all the artists arrived and established the first contacts with the environment where they would live for a few days. An artist’s work in a residency takes place under conditions affected by the place, the history of the place and the cultural, geographic or social and political environment where he/she will live.

 

Second Day – Harvest Day

Usually, the second day is not the harvest day. Everybody knows that we harvest on the last day…

Anyway, not on the second day. But this actually happened at the Art Residency in Mallnitz, organized by Association d. fleiss & east west artist e.V. Dresden and Pro Arte Kunstverein Mallnitz. On Sunday, the entire community in Mallnitz gathered close to Mallnitzbach Brucke bridge, wearing their traditional costumes for this holiday, and marked this very important moment following a scenario which was probably practiced for decades. They were blessed by the catholic priest and then, they headed to the church as a parade, accompanied by the local fanfare band.

During all this time, behind Kärntnerhof Hotel, where the art residency takes place, a wood lift truck left two logs in the care of Sabbah Iyad from Belgium and Anne Plaisance from USA, almost impatient to be turned into artistic works.

After the people entered the church, and the logs were carefully placed in the improvised studio, the artists got into cars and went to Ankogelbahn, the cable car which would take them to Ankogel mountain. Ankogelbahn took them to 2637 m above sea level in two stages. They were rewarded with an incredible, breathtaking alpine panorama. Why all this?

A friend once said to me that, whenever he had to make an important decision, he went somewhere he had never been before. Then, upon his return, he knew what to do. I think that the artists taking part in the Mallnitz Art Residency were helped to decide what to work in Mallnitz.

At least sculptor Sabbah Iyad was undecided which of the sketches he had prepared before arriving to Mallnitz he would develop. Born in Gaza in 1973, Sabbah has been active in the contemporary work for more than 15 years, and his works are well-known for their simplicity and for his manner of mixing sculpture with painting. He took part in numerous personal and group exhibitions, in Belgium and internationally. He paints, sculpts and draws. Easy or very serious topics.

While the cable car was taking him up in the mountains, at a certain point, Sabbah had the impression that a woman emerged from the heart of the mountain. Like an angel or, on the contrary, like a normal person.

By her nature, the woman is a symbol of birth and life. She is at the same time mother, lover, wife. So, he took out his sketch book, drew a woman that he would carve in wood, at a natural scale, like a sort of symbol of the Austrian Alps. Like any important artist, he is trying to understand the world around him.

The entire trip of the resident artists to the mountains was documented by photographer Klotz Miklos from Hungary. The Hungarian photographer acted like an explorer-reporter towards his residency colleagues. The artist is generally interested in the aspects of daily habits, apparently or truly ordinary in the social and cultural context of the explored place. The explorations of Miklós Klotz are, above all, deeply personal experiences of knowledge, understanding and intellectual awareness. Finding the real person behind a social mask and identifying the mask behind the portraits of the people around us - this is the topic of true interest for him. Hence his obsession for the portrait. Miklós Klotz finds a lot of interest in the portraits of the people we know, but whom we ignore or who are marginalized by the consumer society in our rush to “live in the moment”. For the Hungarian artist, wearing a social protection mask becomes mandatory in the presence of persons that we do not know well enough, just like wearing protection face masks was mandatory during the pandemics. He admits that he is very interested in this subject which is so old but, at the same time, so inciting, and he has the courage to confess that the only environment where he himself may give up his own social mask is his family.

The third day – When the artist is no longer an image

Artists have always been searching for places where to do their work, to focus their creative force. Most of the time, they wanted to find a place far from the city and the world, an isolated, near clandestine space, where tranquility acts both as a bandage and as a source of inspiration. In other words, they were looking to access what the French philosopher Roland Barthes called the “private sphere”, namely “that areas of space, time, where I am no longer an image, an object”. Separation from reality and entering the creative universe functions and continues to be necessary for some of the artists. This vulnerable interspace was the place where ideas and concepts which revolutionized the artistic world appeared, and placing oneself between realities became a space of discovery, knowledge and human exploration. Maybe that is why Associaiton d. fleiss & east west artist e.V. Dresden and Pro Arte Kunstverein Mallnitz, the organizers of the art residency in Mallnitz, scheduled for the afternoon of the second day a visit to the studio of Austrian sculptor, Heinrich Untergantschnig. After a spectacular road trip of almost one hour, with 45-degree slopes, hairpin curves, and high levels of adrenaline because of the unconscious fear of falling from such height, the artists had the opportunity to visit the house of the well-known Austrian artist. Probably the most isolated house in the area.

The visit was very relevant for the artists, because it clearly showed the practical conditions allowing to create and, on the other hand, because these conditions resonate a lot with a certain idea of “withdrawal from the world”.

After this visit, we realized that the paradox of technological advance in the last decades is that the more accessible we have become, the lonelier we have become. Before the increasingly thick layers of technological social media, an active resistance arises in such artistic micro-communities focused on solitary living and working.

The myth of a lonely genius and of the artist confined in their ivory tower or in their reclusive house haunts the art history. In fact, the creative genius existing in the collective mind is a white, heterosexual male. But gender discrimination is a real problem, even nowadays and, recently, in the USA, the women’s body became a battlefield for conservatives and fundamentalists.

So that the presence of Anne Plaisance from the USA, Arta Rushiti Fetahu from Kosovo or Eris Bushati from Albania in Mallnitz  provided a necessary counterweight in order to balance the dominant artistic speech.

Anne Plaisance is a visual artist of French origin, living near Boston, USA. Her artistic work focuses on women empowerment and social justice. She took part in over 100 exhibitions in the USA, Europe and Asia. She appears on the TV, radio, in newspapers and magazines, and her works are in private collections in the USA, France, Poland, Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Switzerland etc. She uses a wide range of media: painting, installations, sculpture, collage, sketchbooks, video. Paper, canvas, tears, dolls, Louis Vuitton bags, barbed wire, anything that she finds and that may help express herself. She uses her fears, demons and anger against this world in order to break it, to mix it and recompose it so that it becomes more accessible. Or more easily readable from a visual standpoint. Her weapon is the art that she uses in order to draw attention in particular to the women’s problems. And on the messages that she wants to convey on this topic. Eris Bushati also uses the feminine in her work. More precisely, she uses the

woman’s body in order to draw the viewer’s 

attention and to make them meditate on what she wants to convey. To push the viewer to express emotions and energy from their own personal experience. To change their perception and mood. To induce the viewer’s predisposition to the energy that her art wants to communicate. Beside the woman

body, Eris Bushati also counts on the emotional impact of the colors she uses. On the unexpected and invasive contrasts of the colors, where she afterwards hides details from her daily life, her meditations on various issues, or simply messages that she wants to convey.

Arta Rushiti Fetahu has an even more feminist and explicit message. She believes in the power of concepts and in the physical dimension of art. She uses the feminist symbols in an ironic way. Joking with the viewer. Misleading them or making them insecure. She believes in an eternal return to the same point and that the best way to reach it is to use the visual arts. She is also attracted by the disagreement of the colors on the canvas and their relationship with the space of the painting.

 Fourth day – Work and respect

Kärntnerhof hotel obviously offers the necessary conditions allowing to create. The manner in which is it adorned with the creations of the artists who have participated in time in the Mallnitz residency resonates a lot with a certain idea of “respect”. A nuance of this concept which is almost lost nowadays. Philosopher Byung-Chul Han said that, literally, respect meaning, in the end “looking back”, it involves consideration and prudence. Respectful interaction with the others involves refraining from a curious look. Respect involves looking from a distance, without intrusion. The Latin verb “spectare”, which is the origin of “spectacle” (show) meaning a disrespectful, curious look. The distance is what makes a difference between “respectare” and “spectare”. A room of one’s own confers respect. But what happens when you get out of the room and enter an art residency?

Our lives are a constant negotiation between individual and social, a permanent interaction of two states

which may not be completely separated. So, the artists in Mallnitz were forced to negotiate the distance between them and, implicitly, the respect for one another. The day was dominated by individual work under the respectful look of the others. Each has found their perfect place in the geography of the hotel and started working hard. The possibility to be part of the creating process not only as an active member, but also as a simple observer is one of the key elements of an art residency.

During the discussion breaks, the artists could freely explore topics of concern, such as legends, traditions and celebrations, immigration-emigration, community-individuality, feminine-feminism.

Painter Mirela Trăistaru brought to Mallnitz a consistent slice of natal Bistrița (a region in Romania). The paradise, the primordial garden, the beginning of the world with which she wants to identify herself, a piece of heaven from Bistrița for which she longs so that she can evade the chaos, noise and agitation of contemporary world. The personal history of artist Mirela Trăistaru is the foundation of her artistic work. The respect, looking back is obviously imperative in the works of the Romanian artist. Irrespective of whether they are about the paradise, luxuriant and sensual landscape or about an organic understanding of the symbolic existence. Her contemporaneity consists in the meditation on the human condition as collective and unifying experience.

The German artist of Romanian origin, Dorothea Fleiss, also deals with respect and immersion in the ancestral subconsciousness. Known throughout the world for the round shapes symbolizing an ancestral nest and a slightly inverted “X”, symbolizing a window. Her paintings are a mix of colorful spots - a secret language resembling music. The nest is in fact a hearth, a family home, tradition and stability. And the window signifies opening to the outside world. The window is, in fact, interference between inside and outside, taking the form of natural ventilation/light, and the “avalanche” of information focused or passing by the field of vision. The window is the place by which, in fact, one may be affected by extreme weather, intruders or only by the curiosity of the others. The place through which one may look to the outside, while the inside remains invisible.

The same note of respect is also characteristic to Berat Zulbehari –

a fight with his own past. With a true artistic destiny worthy of a film script, the artist from Northern Macedonia migrated from graphics and figurative art to abstract art and the psychological dimension of the colors. From a declared enemy of abstract art, to a fervent abstract artist. His creations are structures controlled by logic or affection. In his works, Berat Zulbehari “listens” to his lyrical impulses and spills on the canvas the entire emotional load. The artist shows respect to his figurative past and his education as an artist, but the revelation of the new expression possibilities offered by abstract art definitively won him on its side.

For Krisztina Soós from Hungary, respect, looking back is inseparable from the feeling of freedom. She questions her past from this perspective. To what extent can I be free, taking into account the past that already forged me? Her paintings are the result of gliding over things. As if gliding over the Hungarian puszta, free as a bird, guided by thick lines which go out of the paintings.

Sefkat Islegen from Turkey shows the same respect to the past as all the others, her painting seems to have strong religious and cultural roots. Her paint strokes on the canvas resemble the Sufi whirling dance. Her works imply poetry, music and dance, by which she thinks she can meet the Creator.

With a short walk in the Hohe Tauern National Park, one of the most spectacular high mountain landscapes on planet Earth, and a visit to BIOS Museum, the day ended as it had begun. With work and discussions, and with a lot of respect.

 

Fourth day - About freedom

Art residencies have become increasingly important in the ecosystem of contemporary art in the past few years, as crucial nodes in the international circulation and career development, as well as priceless infrastructures for critical thinking, artistic experimenting and intercultural collaboration. In time, the current wider processes of social change, economic and geopolitical pressures, as well as the impact of ecological and humanitarian emergencies affect arts, professional practices and mobility in ways that raise increasingly urgent questions regarding the access of some artists to certain art residencies. There were no such barriers in the Mallnitz art residency. Numerous Chinese artists were invited and took part in it: Wang Yanwen, Wei Xi, Xu Chunli, Shi Meisheng. This enabled contact with the artistic work and concerns beyond the map of Western art, to a still surprising art continent.

Discreet and hard-working, at the beginning they were a little separated from the other artists but, in time, they managed to integrate in the artistic community at Kärntnerhof Hotel. Very different cultures met at personal level. And the meeting was fascinating.

At the end of the day of work, the Western and Chinese artists spoke about the differences between their artistic endeavors. About what separates them, but also about what unites them. About perceptions and freedom. About the status and role of the artist in the Chinese culture. About the techniques and colors they use. About the sincerity of Western art. It was a long discussion, during which the artists got to truly know each other because they quietly looked at all the aspects. Starting from this meeting, perceptions dramatically changed, and prejudices were abandoned. And the time they will perceive from now on will be defined by solidarity. Old borders receive a new life.

 

Sixth day - Exhibition

The Mallnitz residency ended with an exhibition. Curators: Elisabeth Koch and Dorothea Fleiss. It was organized at Groppenstein Castle. The people present at this exhibition were offered a tour of the castle. Since it is a private property, the castle is not included in the circuit of monuments which may be visited by the public without restrictions.

First mentioned in historic documents in 1254, Burg Groppenstein was built in a particularly beautiful place, where River Mallnitz flows into River Möll. In the 15th century, it was turned into a defence in the style of the late Middle Ages. In 1872 the castle was renovated by the Viennese architect Adolf Stipperger, and its exterior design has since been unchanged. The Romanesque wing was replaced by Gothic dwellings and weirs with towers and battlement walls. The Knights Hall features beautiful, 16th century stained glass windows. Other glass paintings were added by Prof. Franz Chvostek, who owned the castle from 1936 to 1944.

Also worth a visit is the castle chapel consecrated to St. Katharina with its gothic aisle and semi-circular Romanesque apse. The artists enjoyed the beautiful history lesson offered by the landlord and the superb landscapes of the castle and its surroundings.

Seventh day

The seventh day was for relaxation. Which was active relaxation. All the participants visited Max Ernst exhibition at the Gmünd Tower Gallery. With over 80 works, including lithographs, engravings, frottages, collages and sculptures, the exhibition is shown for the first time to art lovers in Southern Austria. Max Ernst is probably the most important German artist of the 20th century at international level. His life story is amazing. His diverse artistic expressions are extraordinary – even brilliant. The exhibition also includes impressive photographs of the great artist and photographer Edward Quinn, a close friend of Max Ernst and who published an extended biography of Max Ernst during his life. The exhibition is open from 6 May 2023 to 1 October 2023.

The Gmünd Tower Gallery is well-known for the success of its previous exhibitions: Albrecht Dürer (2015), Francisco de Goya (2016), Joan Miró (2017), Henri Matisse (2018), William  Turner (2019), Edward Quinn (2020), Picasso (2021) and Maria Sibylla Merian (2022).

Eighth and nineth day - Instead of concluding remarks

The last two days were the most painful, because they meant artists leaving Mallnitz. Leaving is always painful. Especially taking into account that close friendships were born. Twenty-one artists offered to each other time and space for art, research and reflection. At the end of such art residencies, one can only wonder: In the end, nowadays, which is the role of art residencies in the ecosystem of contemporary art? How do they answer the changing needs of individual artists? How may residencies offer opening and alternative infrastructures to fuel the artistic work in the middle of current social transformations and environmental crises? In order to answer these questions - and others - we have interviewed the participants on the impact of this residency on them. Their answers will be uploaded on this blog as we receive them. 

Foto:  Miklos Klotz, Eris Bushati,  Dorothea Fleiss, Mirela Trăistaru.