If a woman wanted to become an artist in the middle of the 19th century, one hurdle after the other built up: until 1920, no access to academies and art colleges, let alone barrier-free admission to art associations. And yet, around this time, a number of women established themselves in Linz with remarkable works across all disciplines of the visual arts. Hardly anyone knows that around 1950, Margret Bilger and Vilma Eckl, two Upper Austrians were presented at the 25th Venice Biennale. The large exhibition “Appearance of Women – Artists in Linz 1851-1951” will be devoted to the work of these women and their biographies from May 20 in the Nordico City Museum in Linz.
The starting point of the Nordico is its own exhibition about the life and work of the Linz native Egon Hofmann-Linz (1884-1972) – “Artist, industrialist, cosmopolitan” (24. 1. to 9. 8. 2020). Nordico boss Andrea Bina: “During the research at the time, we came across Egon Hofmann’s mother – the artist Agathe von Schwabenau, who hardly anyone remembers.” Her great-granddaughter provided the Nordico with notes and notes from Agathe von Schwabenau (1857-1950).
In it she formulated a precise picture of almost 100 years of women’s life plus city history and cultural development. Art historian Michaela Nagl transcribed this documentation. Among other things, it says: “Unfortunately, when I was twelve years old, Mom already forced me into a bodice because she thought I was built like a potato sack.” Agathe von Schwabenau founded an artistic salon in Linz, she was involved in the board of the Upper Austria. Kunstverein and founded the first painting school in Linz.
“What distinguishes this exhibition from all other shows about artists is that, based on Schwabenau as the protagonist, we tell what it was like to be a woman, artist, wife and mother in these 100 years,” says art historian Sabine Fellner, who works in Vienna Belvedere 2019 curated the exhibition “City of Women”.
Fellner, Bina and Nagl rummaged through the collections of Lentos and Nordico for works by artists of the time. “And we have noticed,” says Bina, “that we have an incredible number of exhibits ourselves. We can equip two thirds of the exhibition with works by these in-house artists, some of whom have not been discovered.”
Who has work at home?
And now you, dear readers, come into play: Fellner, Nagl and Bina are still looking for works by Margret Bilger, Olga Jäger, Tina Kofler, Sophie Koko, Michaela Pfaffinger and Emmy Sommerhuber for this already remarkable project. If you have any work, Nordico would like to borrow it for the exhibition.
If you want to participate with a loan, please send an email to: nordico@nordico.at or by phone at 0732/7070-1901.
Source: Nachrichten
