Ariane Mueller: Fische sind ins Meer gefaltet wie das Meer in die Fische – An Exhibition on War and Peace

This exhibition by Ariane Mueller delves into the artist's complex engagement with war and peace, presenting two contrasting spheres. It features new large-scale landscape paintings inspired by nature and historical art, alongside videos exploring collaboration and non-goal-oriented actions.

Ariane Mueller's exhibition, 'Fische sind ins Meer gefaltet wie das Meer in die Fische', critically examines the artist's long-standing engagement with war. The exhibition is divided into two spheres: 'war' and 'peace.' The 'war' sphere presents new large-scale landscape paintings, sketched around Vienna and in Styria, or based on works by Shi-Tao. These depictions of natural scenes and 'wood paths' reflect a tendency to retreat into isolation and silence in the face of conflict, a retreat the artist fundamentally questions as the war is 'folded into us as much as we are into war.' Mueller adopts the graphic style of Paul Cézanne for these works, employing a two-meter brush handle to increase distance and explore painterly reach, with sketches consciously leaving blank spaces that become dense upon closer inspection as translucent layers dissolve into abstract surfaces, disturbed by a nervous computer animation. The 'peace' sphere contrasts this with videos created between 1988 and 2023, which explore collaboration and intentionally non-goal-directed actions. These are projected on screens arranged according to a specific star constellation. The videos capture diverse scenes such as water trails on a train window, a tennis match on a deserted school grounds, a museum mascot, or an alternative news broadcast from Mueller's self-founded 'Lokal TV' channel, which produced content with Viennese and Berlin artists. These works reflect the spirit of Berlin in the 1990s, where Mueller organized collaborative spaces amidst precarious structures, showcasing activities that allow for experimentation, engagement, and 'non-work.' The exhibition ultimately poses the question of what art can achieve in the face of a crisis-ridden present.

Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased through the provided link. The Secession is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Further visitor information is available via the 'Information & Tickets' section on the website.