On the occasion of the exhibition Animalia. Of Animals and Humans, the Heidi Horten Collection presents a selection of dog portraits from the series Hundert by Alois Mosbacher. The presentation provides the setting for the Dog Salon (April 18), during which the artist creates portraits of various dogs in a performative and communicative exchange. read more

The exhibition “The Line” at the Heidi Horten Collection was dedicated to the line as one of the most fundamental elements of visual art. Between subjective gesture and constructive precision, the line structures surface and space, defines form, creates contour and boundary, and can both connect and separate. As the trace of a movement, it has the capacity to describe reality, create illusion, and render the imaginary visible. Starting from drawing as the classical medium of the line, the exhibition explored the artistic potential of the line through selected works from the Heidi Horten Collection as well as contemporary positions. It demonstrated how artists employ the line beyond traditional genre boundaries as an independent means of expression to create artistic worlds and respond to the realities of their time. read more

Auch in diesem Jahr lud die Heidi Horten Collection zeitgenössische Künstler ein, in Anlehnung an den Weihnachtsbaum eine Skulptur für die Vorweihnachtszeit zu gestalten. 2025 sorgt Gelatin mit ihrem Kunstwerk Frohes Fest 2 für Aufsehen. Diese Tradition, lebende Künstler:innen mit der Interpretation des Weihnachtsbaums zu betrauen, ist im deutschsprachigen Raum einzigartig. Gelatins Installation ist eine drei Meter hohe, fleischfarben-fröhliche Figur, die zwischen Balanceakt und Performance pendelt. Auf einer Besucher:innenbank balancierend, scheint die plüschige Gestalt in akrobatischer Pose gerade noch das Gleichgewicht zu halten. Der fragile Moment – pointiert durch strategisch platzierte Weihnachtskugeln an neuralgischen Stellen – spiegelt das vorweihnachtliche Wechselspiel von Erwartung, Stress und Vorfreude. Ein vertrautes Bild: Noch bevor die Bescherung beginnt, gilt es, zahlreiche „Bälle in der Luft zu halten“ und „eine gute Figur“ zu machen. Gelatin beschreibt die Arbeit als „Balance zwischen Gestus und Gymnastik. Eine im romantischen Prekariat angesiedelte Selbstinszenierung von Risiko, Fest und Freude.“ Diese subversiv-humorvolle Reflexion trifft einen gesellschaftlichen Nerv und fügt sich schlüssig in jene Reihe ein, die den Weihnachtsbaum jährlich künstlerisch neu denkt – fernab von Konsum, Kitsch und Routine. read more

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Die Ausstellung ist dem Werk von drei Künstlern – Balthasar Wigand, Rudolf von Alt und Stefan Oláh – gewidmet, genauer: deren Auseinandersetzung mit der Stadt Wien. Diese Auseinandersetzung umspannt zwei Jahrhunderte, von Wigand, dessen künstlerisch bedeutendsten Werke um 1820 entstehen, über Rudolf von Alt – „Stadtchronist“ des 19. Jahrhunderts par excellence – bis zu Stefan Oláh, der seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten immer wieder die Stadt aus unterschiedlichsten Blickwinkeln zu seinem Thema macht. Für Wien, Wien, nur du allein nimmt Oláh den Blick seiner Vorgänger an, sucht deren Standorte auf und zeigt in seinen Fotografien die Stadt und deren Umgebung wie sie sich heute darbietet. Die Auswahl der Motive ist nicht beliebig. Bestimmt wurde sie von Wigands, in prachtvolle Kassetten eingearbeitete Wien-Miniaturen, sowie den fünf herausragenden Aquarellen Rudolf von Alts in der Heidi Horten Collection. So gibt die Ausstellung die einmalige Möglichkeit das „Damals“ mit dem „Heute“ zu vergleichen und zugleich das Werk der drei Künstler unter einem ganz spezifischen Gesichtspunkt kennenzulernen. Dabei führt diese Reise von der Spinnerin am Kreuz über das Zentrum von Wien mit dem Stephansdom und der Karlskirche bis Schloss Schönbrunn und abschließend in das Gasteiner Tal: Stefan Oláhs Blick entgeht nichts. Er ist ist nicht wertend, vielmehr analytisch. Oláh zeigt Orte, die über 200 Jahre kaum Veränderungen erfahren haben, andere hingegen, die heute buchstäblich „verbaut“ sind. read more

Experiment Expressionism - Schiele meets Nosferatu is a comprehensive, cross-genre exhibition on Expressionism. Important works from the Heidi Horten Collection act as a starting point of the exhibition that is curated by Agnes Husslein-Arco, Rolf H. Johannsen and Roland Fischer-Briand. In particular works by the Expressionist painters Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde and Max Pechstein, among others. These artists are shown in context with works by Austrian Expressionist painters like Herbert Boeckl, Helene Funke, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Oppenheimer, Egon Schiele, Helene von Taussig and others. read more

What can sculpture be today? The exhibition Focus Franz West is a survey of the multifaceted work of Austrian artist Franz West, who challenged and playfully subverted traditional genre concepts. West’s creative universe is all-encompassing: his oeuvre includes drawings, collages, posters, videos, and, most notably, works dedicated to the principle of participation and an expanded concept of sculpture. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a work that is a new addition to the collection: Franz West’s nine-part series of collages for the 1990 Biennale, which takes an ironic look at the dialogue between artwork and viewer. The series is a sequel to his earlier Passstücke (Adaptives), portable sculptures that function as a temporary extension of the human body and invite the recipient to interact with them. Other works from the collection, including a Passstück and a work on paper, complement the presentation. The exhibition is further enhanced by works on loan from private collections. These works, including additional Passstücke and amorphous sculptures, demonstrate West’s innovative approach to pushing the boundaries between art and life. read more

The exhibition Light Sound Senses explores light as a physical and natural and aesthetically usable phenomenon and aims to stimulate our diverse sensory perceptions. Visitors are invited to engage with multi-sensory works of art to heighten their own awareness of space, time, light and sound. Light is explored as an indicator of technological development and as a cultural construct with symbolic meaning. Through works from the Heidi Horten Collection as well as loans from TBA21 and site-specific and immersive installations - realized exclusively for the exhibition by invited artists - Light Sound Senses conveys a deeper understanding of the nature of light, sound and our five senses. In the exhibition, which extends over two floors of the museum, visitors will get to know a pioneer of light art, László Moholy-Nagy, or encounter immersive light installations by Olafur Eliasson, Brigitte Kowanz and Siegrun Appelt. Appelt deals with the topic of light pollution and the scientific background of daylight research. Tracey Emin and Joseph Kosuth use neon as an artistic and conceptual material. A room-filling sound installation by Austrian artist Bernhard Leitner encourages visitors to “see” sound; other artists use sound to achieve a stronger perception of their own bodies. Finally, works by Lena Henke and Ernesto Neto will stimulate the sense of smell and taste. As a special feature of the exhibition, visitors are encouraged to interact with the works in a participatory way. One example of this is Carsten Nicolai's work Bausatz noto, in which the visitors themselves act as sound artists: At a table with four record players, different colored vinyls with different timbres can be combined. Carsten Nicolai will create a light and sound installation exclusively for the exhibition. The exhibition Light Sound Senses is to take a scientific-critical, humorous and artistic-aesthetic look at our sensory perceptions, to challenge them and play with them. With works by: Siegrun Appelt with Constanze Müller, John M Armleder, Cibelle Cavalli Bastos, Olafur Eliasson, Tracey Emin, Cerith Wyn Evans, Dan Flavin, Ceal Floyer, Peter Friedl, Gelatin, Helga Griffiths, Lena Henke, Carsten Höller, Krištof Kintera, Edgar Knoop, Brigitte Kowanz, Joseph Kosuth, Bernhard Leitner, Paul McCarthy, László Moholy-Nagy, Iván Navarro, Ernesto Neto, Carsten Nicolai, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Tony Oursler, Finnbogi Petursson, Ugo Rondinone, Christine Schörkhuber, SUPERFLEX, Iv Toshain and Martin Walde. read more

In celebration of the X-mas Series, the Heidi Horten Collection annually invites a contemporary artist to design a seasonal installation within the museum. Following the contributions of Manfred Erjautz (2022) and Tillman Kaiser (2023), this year’s spotlight falls on Blue Lips (Kiss-mas) by Maruša Sagadin. The sculpture, resembling an oversized plum-shaped Christmas tree ornament, explores themes of beauty and adornment in a broad sense, extending even to the human body. The form doubles as a pair of lips, which, as the title suggests, are rendered in blue. These blue lips might evoke the chill of winter, hint at emotional coolness, or, seen through the lens of techno-futuristic aesthetics, challenge conventional beauty standards with a bold statement. Sagadin’s playful manipulation of language adds another layer of meaning, transforming "X-mas" into "Kiss-mas." The lips thus symbolize the cultural practice of kissing, a gesture of intimacy and affection that underscores human connection and warmth. read more

The exhibition featured a selection of high-caliber artworks from the Heidi Horten Collection, curated in three thematic categories that represent the collection's principal content areas: Expressionism, especially in its German variant; art from the 1960s and 1970s, with a specific emphasis on U.S., Italian, and German positions and painting and sculpture in the field of tension between figuration and abstraction. Visitors of the museum were able to play a significant role in the exhibition concept. They had the opportunity to select around twenty artworks from the collection, either on-site or through social media, which will then get permanently displayed in a special area of the museum. read more

The Heidi Horten Collection is home to a masterpiece by Gustav Klimt entitled Church in Unterach on Lake Attersee, created between 1915 and 1916. The artwork will be featured in one of the “Kabinett” rooms alongside graphic works by artists of the same period. These works are juxtaposed in dialogue with contemporary works from the Heidi Horten Collection. The unifying element is the square – Klimt's trademark, as it were – which gained exceptional popularity in "Vienna around 1900" and has since been adopted by an astonishing number of contemporary artists. read more

The 2023 year’s summer exhibition at the Heidi Horten Collection invited to rendezvous with artists from the collection whose lives were touched by France; the exhibition followed them there to places representing a significant stage in their artistic development. Taken together, the importance of Paris is reflected – but also that of the Midi, the south of France — as catalyst and breeding ground for the emergence and dissemination of significant art movements of the twentieth century. read more

On the occasion of this year's Christmas celebrations, the Heidi Horten Collection is presenting a sculpture by Tillman Kaiser from December 4, 2023 to February 2, 2024, for which he translates the shape of the Christmas tree into his characteristic artistic language. The composition of rhythmic folds is made up of two parts that interlock like an "above" and a "below". The artist counteracts the strict symmetrical form of the sculpture by integrating elements that he has taken from a non-art context. A mirrored glass body forms the center of the sculpture, while a wire spiral hangs from above and extends into the form. Both objets trouvés are transformed by their new context and become charged with content. read more

In celebration of the upcoming holiday season, the Heidi Horten Collection presents Manfred Erjautz's work Under the Weight of Light from December 12, 2022 to February 2, 2023. With his sculpture made of fluorescent tubes, electric cables and ropes floating in the architecture of the museum, the artist counteracts the traditional image of the Christmas tree. The sculpture's cool sobriety and intense radiance simultaneously highlight its significance as a bearer of light. In the Tea Room of the museum, Erjautz also presents recent works under the title Fragments of a beauty, which allow the concept of time to appear in the field of tension between objective measurability and subjective perception. read more

The first thematic exhibition "LOOK" is a tribute to the founder of the museum, Heidi Goëss-Horten. It spotlights art and fashion and their inspiring interplay at the museum HEIDI HORTEN COLLECTION. The “look” of women and looking at women, as well as other aspects associated with the feminine, are key themes in the Heidi Horten Collection. Based on these topics, the exhibition explores various thematic questions in eight chapters. read more

OPEN celebrates the opening of the Heidi Horten Collection's new home: a museum founded by the patron and collector Heidi Goëss-Horten. Inspired by her ideas, the building was built and designed by the next ENTERprise architects in Vienna, led by Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs and Ernst J. Fuchs. read more

Die von Agnes Husslein-Arco kuratierte Präsentation mit 170 „Glanzlichtern“ aus der Sammlung entwickelte internationale Strahlkraft, nicht zuletzt durch den begleitenden Medienrummel, der Schlagzeilen wie Der Schatz vom Wörthersee, Milliardärin mit WOW-Effekt oder Breath-taking Heidi Horten Collection hervorbrachte. read more