Markus Schinwald: Solo Show

The solo show presents the Austrian visual artist, who is famous for his anonymous nineteenth century portraits. His paintings never reveal the identity of the people he displays, but rather blurred faces to mask and disguise.

The artist’s works present a thorough research of the human body, its movement and the relationship its surrounding environment. For the Austrian Pavilion of the 54th Biennale in 2011, designed by Joseph Hoffmann, he presented a mixed-media installation, combining architectural, pictorial, sculptural, and filmic elements to present his investigation of the psychological relationship between space and body, control, discipline, and self-correction.

For this solo exhibition at Giò Marconi, the artist as well works with the gallery spaces by using the architecture and light to give life to a scenography dealing with the topics of full and empty. In line with the artist’s technique of disguising, a key element of the exhibition is a Chippendale table, of which the legs – respectability of the Victorian Age – have been covered with white fabric. Thereby, Schinwald plays with themes of prudence, erotic allusions and sensuality. In addition, the exhibition displays a series of paintings and sculptures that retrace the artist’s twenty-year career.