Ursula Biemann
Becoming Earth
MQ Freiraum

Swiss artist Ursula Biemann's first solo exhibition in Vienna focuses on her video works from the past ten years, in which she explores various ecological conditions, living realities and natural relationships: Forest Law (2014), Acoustic Ocean (2018), Forest Mind (2021) and Devenir Universidad (2019 - 2023). Ursula Biemann's artistic practice is research-driven, collaborative and based on traveling to remote places from Greenland to Amazonia, where she investigates climate change and the ecology of oil, ice, forests and water. "Based on field research in the forests of the Colombian Amazon, my recent art videos and collaborative action projects bring together different strands of knowledge about the intelligence of nature and the relationships between all the creatures that inhabit these spaces," says the artist. Biemann sensitively and astutely observes and analyzes the given social, knowledge-based and legal systems that shape the relationship to nature. In her multi-layered videos, she interweaves atmospheric and documentary landscape shots with science fiction poetry, individual stories, cosmological orders and scientific findings to illustrate a changing planetary reality and tell it with new narratives.

Ursula Biemann's (*1955) video installations are exhibited worldwide in museums and at international art biennials and have been described in numerous publications. She has recently had solo exhibitions at the MUAC, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City, the MAMAC in Nice and the UNAL Art Museum in Bogota. She lives in Zurich and works worldwide.

Curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert, chief curator MuseumsQuartier

The exhibition catalogue is available on site at the MQ Freiraum.

27.09. – 23.02.2025, MQ Freiraum l Tue–Sun 10-18h

Info, tickets & educational program

Rodrigo Braga
Nullpunkt [Point Zero]
MQ Freiraum

Rodrigo Braga is a contemporary Brazilian artist who explores the complex relationships between humans and their environment through various artistic media such as performance, sculpture, video, photography, drawing, and painting. Highlighting the utilitarian exploitation of nature, his works indirectly touch on central aspects of current socio-ecological discourse. Braga addresses themes such as transformation, identity, and the vulnerability of the human body, using his own physical presence to create symbolically charged pieces that evoke emotional responses.
In this expansive installation, specifically designed for this space, Rodrigo Braga draws upon works from his series "Ponto Zero" (Point Zero), which he has been developing since 2018. Videos, photographs, and sculptures are complemented by textile works, object arrangements, and mural drawings created on site. Braga uses materials such as charcoal and limestone, an archaic substance formed hundreds of millions of years ago. The black-and-white hues of these materials represent the interdependent dualities of impermanence and growth, inner life and outer world, creation and destruction. These materials are repeatedly combined in his works, conveying the constant tension and interaction of opposing yet interdependent forces.
The egg and the eye are key symbols in “Ponto Zero”. The egg symbolizes the beginning of life, fragility, and potential, while the eye stands for consciousness, insight, and the ability to see and understand the world.
In the center of the room, the artist positions seating around the central object, which represents a symbiosis of egg and eye. Visitors are invited to linger, to meditate, or to reflect on and talk about what they perceive. Braga creates an artistic reflection on the origins, fragility, and fundamental processes of life, combining personal and universal perspectives.

Rodrigo Braga (*1976 in Manaus, Brazil) studied Fine Arts at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Recife. His work has been exhibited in solo presentations at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016), and at the 30th Bienal de São Paulo (2012). He has received the PIPA prize for Brazilian Visual Art and the MASP Award for the Visual Arts – Best Emerging Talent. Rodrigo Braga lives and works in Rio de Janeiro and Paris.

Curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert, chief curator MuseumsQuartier

The exhibition catalogue is available on site at the MQ Freiraum.

27.09. – 23.02.2025, MQ Freiraum l Tue–Sun, 10–18h

Info, tickets & educational program

PREVIEW

herman de vries
all this
Opening: Tue 18.03.2024, 19h
19.03. – 10.08.2025 | MQ Freiraum

With “all this”, the MQ is showing the first institutional solo exhibition by herman de vries in Austria. Works from the last 70 years will be on display in the MQ Freiraum.
The work of the Dutch artist (*1931, Alkmaar) focuses on nature as an autonomous work of art per se. Since the 1950s, de vries' artistic activities have derived not only from a deep love of nature, but also from his work as a research assistant in ecological research. In all its diverse manifestations, de vries' work creates space and opportunity to view nature not as an objective and exploitable resource, but as a living, autonomous and consciously acting agent. The artist becomes a collector and presenter of the “works” of nature. He integrates various media such as books, photography, poetry and performative activities into his practice. Today, the work of herman de vries is considered a pioneer and significant example of the paradigmatic shift currently taking place in contemporary art, characterized by post-humanist positions on ecology, language, history and theory. A publication examining the ecological aspect of his work will be published in cooperation with the Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede, Netherlands.

Curated by Dr. Cees de Boer (independent curator) and Verena Kaspar-Eisert (MQ chief curator).

herman de vries, steigerwald kosmologie, 2008/2010
Foto: studio herman de vries / Joana Schwender

Huda Takriti
Anatomy of an Endless Scene
Opening: Tue 18.03.2024, 19h
19.03. – 10.08.2025 | MQ Freiraum

Huda Takriti is a Vienna-based Syrian artist (*1990, Damascus) whose interdisciplinary practice deals with questions of memory, identity, migration and the intertwining of personal and collective history. Through the use of archival materials, found objects and personal narratives, she questions and contextualizes historical and social narratives anew. Her art is characterized by a profound examination of the dynamics of power, time and spatial belonging.

Curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert (MQ Chief Curator).

Abbildung: Clarity is the closest wound to the sun © Huda Takriti