In 1932, the 17th annual exhibition of the Association of Female Artists was held as an exchange exhibition. The public was invited to offer non-monetary compensation, such as goods or services for art pieces. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, this exhibition illustrates the profound influence of economic circumstances on the works and aspirations of the female artists during that time.

The exhibition catalog echoes a conformist outlook on a marked difference between fine arts and applied arts, a highly debated binary within the association. The internal correspondences reveal the financial necessities and conflicting interests between more conservative and progressive views on the matter resulting in a secession in 1926 of VBKÖ members to form the “Wiener Frauenkunst” who integrated applied arts with fine arts and advocated for more economic independence for women.

The installation refers to two titles from the 1932 exhibition catalog: Young Bull (Junger Stier) by Ka. Ruhm and Looming Thunderclouds (Aufziehende Gewitterwolken) by Th. v. Mor. The temporal gap between the young steer (and a mature bull), or the looming clouds of an oncoming thunderstorm, creates a speculative and liminal interplay. The anachronistic legibility of title, material, technique and positioning serve as a narrative device, playing with the (dis)placement in time yet do not service a specificity, as any documentation of the paintings are lost.  

The group exhibition seeks to contribute to critical discussions on the archive as a space of artistic research and the experimental methods deployed in examining the convergent and divergent histories. The artworks make visible what is absent from documentation and refer to the gaps in the transmission of memory, testimony or kept historical material. (concept group exhibition)

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