Mathias Poledna at Secession: Exploring Cinematic Installations and Modernity

An exhibition featuring the work of Mathias Poledna, focusing on his filmic installations that explore the connections between art, entertainment culture, and modernity. Visitors can expect to see a complex installation that draws on cinematic language and cultural references.

Mathias Poledna's exhibition at Secession centers on his engagement with the connections between art and entertainment culture, modernity in architecture, fashion, and design, the language of film, and the history of exhibition practices. His recent works often take the form of concentrated cinematic installations that unfold a complex tension between the depicted subject matter and associated cultural notions. Poledna's interest in various expressions of modernity is evident in his diverse subject matter, ranging from post-punk music to rainforests, all presented with a highly aesthetic and formally reduced visual language. His works often appear familiar, as if drawn from the collective imaginary of the present and past. For this exhibition, Poledna developed an installation of his filmic work 'A Village by the Sea' (2011). His spatial concept enhances the symmetrical layout of the historic architecture, configuring the main room as an apparatus of seeing, akin to the interior of a camera. In stark contrast to this rigorous arrangement, 'A Village by the Sea' evokes the style of an American musical from the 1930s. Shot in black and white 35mm, the film features a set built in Los Angeles to resemble an apartment or hotel suite interior from that era. Through classically styled camera movements and shots, the film introduces two characters whose ambiguous, possibly romantic past is suggested. Themes of memory, nostalgia, and lost love resonate in the text and the restrained interaction of the two actors, implying a world of extreme artificiality, melancholy, and sentimentality, occasionally broken by moments of almost comedic ambiguity. The song performed by the protagonists is a reimagined arrangement of a chanson by Charles Trenet, adapted into a duet in the style of the American songbook tradition and recorded with a 30-piece ensemble. The film draws inspiration from American studio productions of the 'Great Depression' era, as well as from early 1980s British 'New' or 'Intelligent Pop' and French auteur cinema's appropriation of 1960s Hollywood productions.

Visitors can purchase tickets for the exhibition through the provided link to the official ticketing platform. The Secession is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Entry is subject to museum opening hours and ticketing policies found on their website or designated ticketing partner pages.