Susan Philipsz

After showcasing works by Ugo Rondinone, Kris Martin, Richard Wright and Edmund de Waal, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has commissioned the artist Susan Philipsz (born 1965) to produce a new installation for the Theseus Temple.

Philipsz is one of the most acclaimed artists working today within the medium of sound, and was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize in 2010. Her work was included in the most recent Documenta in 2012, and has been presented at institutions across the world from MoMA, New York, to the Sydney Biennale. The exhibition will be the first of Susan Philipsz’ work in Austria, and is curated by Jasper Sharp.

In 2012 the Kunsthistorisches Museum began hosting a series of exhibitions at the Theseus Temple in Vienna’s Volksgarten. Built between 1819 and 1823 by Pietro Nobile, the Imperial architect, the temple was originally designed as the setting and home of a single contemporary work of art: Antonio Canova’s monumental group “Theseus Slaying the Centaur”. For almost seven decades the sole object displayed there was this impressive white marble sculpture; in 1890 the monumental work was moved to the newly erected Kunsthistorisches Museum where it remains to this day.

With this exhibition series the Theseus Temple again assumes its original function as a location where important works by contemporary artists are displayed.