Coordinator Martha Hanreich and members of WA were offered with a very interesting guided tour about the art work of Koloman Moser (1868-1918). Moser was an eminent figure of the Viennese Fin de siècle, part of the Secessionists’ movement. Due to his mastery of a wide range of disciplines – painting, graphic art, arts and crafts, interior design, fashion, scenography – he was one of the leading artists of Vienna’s artistic renewal.
(For further information click here: https://www.mak.at/en_kolomanmoser)
(“People from the North have the sun in their hearts which they don’t have outside”)
were the words of the greeting of H.E. Ghislain D’hoop at this year’s traditional Advent Concert of Welcome to Austria. Mrs. Catharine D’hoop Freeman-Thomas, the ambassador’s wife, in cooperation with board member Dr. Elisabeth Wolff, graciously invited WA members to a Jolly Pre-Christmas Musical Tea at the Belgian Embassy. Members first warmed up with a drink in their hands while listening to a transporting piano recital by Fateme Beytollahi.
Under the joyful and experienced guidance of our hostess, all joined in exuberant carol singing that didn’t want to seem to end. To make matters complete, a traditional Christmas Cake was cut and warm wishes were made.
Dr. Eva Ottillinger took Martha Hanreich and members through the exhibition of Viennese furniture design from around 1900.
We have seen this lovely furniture produced in Vienna here and there, and this was an opportunity to learn more about the context and see entire ensembles of interior decoration – which are less known.
(For further information click here: http://www.hofmobiliendepot.at/ausstellung/aktuelle-sonderausstellung/wagner-hoffmann-loos-und-das-moebeldesign-der-wiener-moderne.html)
Dr. Agnes Husslein-Arco, Leopold Museum board member and curator of Heidi Horten’s collection, received Anne Thun-Hohenstein and members of Welcome to Austria at the Leopold Museum. A very informative tour was given of Heidi Horten’s rich collection which comprises art works by Marc Chagall, Picasso, Gustav Klimt, Damien Hirst, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Andy Warhol, Paul Klee, and many more.
(For further Information please click here: https://www.leopoldmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/94/wow, http://hortencollection.com/home-2/ )
Members and Anne Thun-Hohenstein visited the atelier of Austrian Artist Brigitte Kowanz where they were received by her son. Kowanz, Professor at the University of Applied Arts, participant of the venice Biennale 2017, was awarded the Grand Austrian State Prize (2009).
For three decades, she has been displaying light as a language, as a code.
says coordinator Anne Thun-Hohenstein who organised the event.
(For further information click here: http://kowanz.com/en/)
Coordinator Martha Hanreich and members of Welcome to Austria were given a guided tour of the Albertina’s exhibition of Viennese watercolor paintings. Biedermeier-era painters – most notable among them: Rudolf von Alt – captured nineteenth-century Austrian landscapes and city views in delicately tuned hues.
(For further information click here: https://www.albertina.at/en/exhibitions/viennese_watercolour/)
Members and their families took to the enchanting Christmas market set in the lush outreaches of the Vienna Woods at Reichenau an der Rax. The current mistress of the castle welcomed the group for a private tour held at the palatial Villa Wartholz. It was designed in 1870 by Heinrich von Ferstel in the Historical Revival style for Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria as a recreational and hunting retreat with a splendid view over the valley (and also where Empress Zita gave birth to Otto von Habsburg in 1912).
We left Vienna under a grey sky. But having reached Gloggnitz not a cloud was to be seen and the day at Villa Wartholz ended under splendid sunshine.
tells coordinator Stefanie Winkelbauer who organised the excursion together with Véronique Dorda.
(For further information click here: http://www.schloss-wartholz.at)
Members and Anne Thun-Hohenstein were received by Gen. Dir. DDr. Christoph Thun-Hohenstein and guided through the MAK’s most interesting exhibition of the well-known artist Thomas Bayrle who combines artisan techniques with computer-generated art from the information Age.
(For further Information click here: http://www.mak.at/e/thomas_bayrle)
Coordinator Martha Hanreich and members of Welcome to Austria received a guided visit at the Albertina through the first exhibition in Austria presenting works solely by Raphael.
Raphael’s thought processes and modes of work, from design to final composition, are illustrated not only by masterful drawings but also by around 20 paintings that simultaneously serve as an overview of the artist’s painted oeuvre. The exhibition draws on the rich collections of the Albertina and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
(For further information click here: http://www.albertina.at/en/raphael)