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Discover Guan Xiao: Teenager, a Thought-Provoking Exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien

New sculptures and paintings explore the complexities of adolescence and its societal reflections in this compelling showcase.

Kunsthalle Wien presents Guan Xiao's solo exhibition 'Teenager', showcasing an entirely new body of sculpture and painting. The artist uses the ambiguous life stage of adolescence as a lens to examine societal currents and conflicts. Visitors can explore works reflecting on themes of food, clothing, and shelter within a multifaceted artistic practice.

About Guan Xiao: Teenager at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna

Read curatorial context and practical visitor information for Guan Xiao: Teenager at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna

Exhibition summary

This exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien presents new sculptures and paintings by Guan Xiao, exploring the 'ambiguous life stage' of a teenager. The works reflect on societal issues influenced by capitalism and liberalism, using themes of food, clothing, and shelter to question progress, civilization, tradition, and spirituality.

Curatorial context

Kunsthalle Wien presents the first solo exhibition in Austria by Chinese artist Guan Xiao, titled 'Teenager'. The exhibition, comprising an entirely new body of sculpture and painting, uses the ambiguous life stage of a teenager as a lens to examine the currents, conflicts, and absurdities of a society shaped by capitalist and liberal values. Guan Xiao describes teenagers as impulsive, intuitive, and open to possibilities, yet also dramatic and self-doubting—a conflicted state of change and uncertainty that echoes through the works. The exhibition features striking sculptures, including a large, furry structure forming a tunnel at its center, housing cast aluminum objects like cutlery, a moka pot, and enlarged eggs. Outside this central piece, gnarled tree roots cast in brass and painted, appended with motorcycle parts and cartoon-like clouds, populate the space as anthropomorphic characters. Two modular columns display pink and blue arms emerging from claw-like bases resembling oversized banana bunches. Accompanying these are wall-mounted triptychs simulating large, palette-shaped windows covered in thick paint. 'Teenager' revisits fundamental subjects such as food, clothing, and shelter to address central questions of progress, civilization, tradition, and spirituality within Guan Xiao's multifaceted, playful, and poetic artistic practice.

Admission and ticket notes

General admission details for Kunsthalle Wien are not specified on this page. Visitors are directed to event pages for specific timings and details for exhibition openings, guided tours, and film screenings related to the exhibition. Information on purchasing a catalogue or limited-edition sculpture is available in the 'Shop' section, but general ticket information for entry is not provided here.

Guan Xiao: Teenager key exhibition facts

Review exhibition status, schedule, venue context, and attribution details for Guan Xiao: Teenager at Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna

Venue
Kunsthalle Wien
Current status
Open now
Exhibition schedule
From Oct 7, 2025
Artist line / attribution
Guan Xiao (b. 1983, Chongqing, China)
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