Belvedere Museum - Aging Pride

Lower #belvedere 17 November 2017 to 04 March 2018

With Aging Pride, the #belvedere has dedicated a comprehensive museum exhibition to the highly topical, socio-political subject of age. It is the first exhibition to contrast historical and contemporary artistic positions on the concept of age with regard to gender roles, the assignment of these roles, and inter-generational solidarity.

These days, the aging process is seen as a deficiency in the public eye. Terms such as ‘antiaging’ give the impression that aging is something pathological. The prevailing cult of youth endeavours to hide the traces of aging. Aside from negative stereotypes, however, age also indicates power, experience, wisdom, contemplation, lust for life, and triumph over societal conventions. Aging is not only a biological process but a cultural construction, which emerging sciences such as cultural gerontology have dedicated themselves to investigating.

In this show, curator #sabinefellner demonstrates how artists have succeeded in differently perceiving the possibilities and limitations of age while transcending exaltation and pessimism. In the presented works, artists illustrate how age in all of its facets can be thoughtfully integrated into our lives. In addition to numerous works from the #belvedere collection, the exhibition presents high-profile loans from national and international museums.

With works by Gustinus Ambrosi, Tina Barney, Pina Bausch, Renate Bertlmann, Herbert Boeckl, Aleah Chapin, Heinz Cibulka, John Coplans, Edgar Degas, Carola Dertnig, Ines Doujak, Lucian Freud, Adolf Frohner, Friedl vom Gröller, George Grosz, Johannes Grützke, Ernst Haas, Barbara Klemm, Heidi Harsieber, Edgar Honetschläger, Alfred Hrdlicka, Bernadette Huber, Konstantin Jatropulus, Birgit Jürgenssen, Alex Katz, Barbara Klemm, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Anton Kolig, Käthe Kollwitz, Nikolaus Korab, Brigitte Kowanz, Maria Lassnig, Annie Leibovitz, Inge Morath, Shirin Neshat, Max Oppenheimer, Martin Parr, Pablo Picasso, Margot Pilz, Arnulf Rainer, Egon Schiele, Elfie Semotan, Daniel Spoerri, Evelin Stermitz, Juergen Teller, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jeff Wall, Harry Weber, Max Weiler, Todd Weinstein, Wojciech Stanislaw Weiss, Nives Widauer, Martha Wilson and many more.