Maria Bussmann: Long Beach, NY – A Drawing Exhibition at the Secession

Maria Bussmann's exhibition 'Long Beach, NY' invites visitors on a conceptual beach stroll through a 20-meter drawing on continuous telex paper. The work explores memory, imagination, and the artist's personal connection to New York and Vienna, translating visual ideas into drawings that serve as open commentary on philosophical thought.

The exhibition 'Long Beach, NY' by Maria Bussmann, held in the Graphic Cabinet of the Secession, presents a 20-meter long drawing on continuous telex paper that simulates a beach walk. This work is a personal message from New York to Vienna, drawing on the artist's personal cosmos of memory and imagination. Bussmann often begins her drawings from philosophical texts, translating ideas from thinkers like Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Ludwig Wittgenstein into two-dimensional space. These extensive series are understood as open commentaries on philosophical thinking and an exploration of the epistemological qualities of drawing, which Bussmann considers the most direct form of artistic expression, intimately linked to thought. For 'Long Beach, NY', Bussmann shifts from philosophical underpinnings to an everyday subject: a multi-week stay at the beach in Long Beach, near New York, a city that has become a second home to her alongside Vienna. Employing a method similar to automatic writing, she generates continuous scenarios of beach, sea, and sky. The artist describes the work as 'Water and sand, sand and water – in countless variations, theoretically endless, just like the paper roll and its carbon copy.' Although not directly tied to a philosophical text, the work still transports concepts, desires, and thoughts, functioning as a private meditation. Bussmann depicts herself as a contemplative beach walker, attempting to capture local life that constantly eludes her, dissipating in the paper's carbon copy. Her drawing technique uses various codifications such as strokes, hatching, dots, and swirls, reflecting on the flatness and spatiality of the depicted scenes. The 20-meter-long work, presented on a high table, uses telex paper—a largely forgotten communication medium—underscoring the drawing's communicative nature. The undulating paper invites intimate viewing, while its edges create disruptions and irritation. The drawing itself reduces the scene to a people-less beach with water and sand, sparsely punctuated by a few typical beach objects and infrastructural elements indicating the cultivation of the shore.

Information and tickets can be found at the provided link, suggesting that admission may require a ticket, though specific pricing or booking details are not detailed on this page. Visitors are directed to a ticketing portal for further information about attending the exhibition. The general opening hours for the Secession are Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM, with the exhibition potentially following these hours or having specific access tied to museum entry. The text directs to 'Informationen & Tickets' for more details, but this specific page does not provide direct ticketing information beyond a link to a booking platform and general venue opening times for 'today'. For specific ticketing details related to the exhibition, visitors are directed to the general Secession ticketing information or the external booking link provided on the site. As the exhibition is housed within the Secession, general museum admission policies likely apply, which often require a ticket or are included with museum entry, but direct confirmation is not present on this page. Further details regarding admission and ticketing can be found via the provided links to the Secession's ticketing portal and information pages, which are essential for planning a visit to the exhibition. There is no specific mention of free entry or special admission requirements solely for this exhibition, implying standard museum access procedures would be in place unless otherwise specified on the ticketing page.