In the present moment, the dispute over the autonomy or heteronomy of art appears to have been reignited. But it is indisputable that artistic and curatorial action always takes place in a context, at least in a lifeworld and an artistic setting. Art comments on the world, questions its rules or imagines them differently—it always presupposes positionality and is therefore never neutral.

Hannelore Nenning’s position could be described as activist watercolor painter. Her subject is the alpine waterways of Tyrol and Austria—the specific and different forms of flowing water coursing through the landscape—which she has portrayed for many decades. Nenning invites us to admire these highly diverse varieties of flowing water, all of which create habitats, and to carefully consider whether we are prepared to destroy them to increase the flow of capital. The exhibition ends with a series from Platzertal—portraits of a Tyrolean landscape that could very soon be exploited as an energy resource.

The C& Center of Unfinished Business, founded in 2017 by the platform Contemporary And (C&), has also been dedicated to examining the destructiveness of capitalism, in this case through the lens of its colonial legacy. As a mobile reading room, the project always begins by interacting with the book collection found at its local host institution. This is complemented by the Center’s own material and new additions. The resulting confrontation with colonialism juxtaposes the ugly and violent with beautiful and hopeful acts of resistance. The encounter they mediate is unexpected, frequently challenging and often uncomfortable.

Curated by Nina Tabassomi

Official opening with free admission: Friday, March 14, 7pm

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