GRAZ.- The practice of Styrian artist, choreographer and filmmaker Leon Höllhumer encompasses performative live events, films and exhibition projects. Exploring issues relating to identity, the body and power, he plays with elements of the performative and the theatrical. In intricate settings, Höllhumer develops situational plots and scenic images that allow him to interact with protagonists, such as the choreographer Florentina Holzinger, the band PUKE PUDDLE and the writer Ferdinand Schmalz. Aesthetically, his works refer to punk and horror films as well as various analogue and digital DIY practices. Above all, his works are daring, bold, and strikingly direct.
At Halle für Kunst Steiermark, similar to his previous works, Höllhumer presents The Feast: a multi-layered multimedia project which offers an immersive experience incorporating scnenic narratives, film and installation. It is precisely this relationship between object and action that can be found in many facets of recent art history. Ever since the idea of performance as action found its way into contemporary art, generations of artists have been testing its boundaries. The medium of film, which is essential for Höllhumer, also comes into play here. In the Austrian context, the protagonists of Viennese Actionism or international positions such as Mike Kelley or Paul McCarthy should be mentioned as prominent representatives of the US West Coast, some of whom produced carefully elaborated sets and backdrops in order to perform bizarre, often sexualized acts – for the camera, for a live audience or sometimes both. Höllhumer draws on this media complexity and emphasizes both the function of the stage design and fragments of sets and props, as well as their qualities as an installation. Thematically, his works often revolve around systemic questions, in which emotions such as grief are also used as a vehicle.
The title The Feast describes both the basic setting and the mood of the work. The boundaries between intoxication and reality, audience and performance are blurred in a maelstrom of the various elements. In an installative parcours that includes new sculptures and several new video works, Höllhumer creates a multi-sensory experience that repeatedly creates ambivalent moments and allows them to collapse in on themselves. The attitude is playful, critical and vulgar in equal measure. In the spirit of punk, the entire work is driven by and interspersed with grotesque figures, actions and settings. In the interplay of sculpture, video, performance and installation, Höllhumer’s work captivates viewers through an aloofness which entices them and turns them into accomplices.
During the exhibition Leon Höllhumer will create several performative moments at Halle für Kunst Steiermark, which, including a performance by the artist, and a live concert by the Graz punk band Saubagger.
Leon Höllhumer (*1986 Judenburg, lives in Vienna)
Solo exhibitions & performances (selection): Fotohof Salzburg (2024), Kunstraum Niederösterreich (2023), Efes42, Linz (2022), TQW Tanzquartier Wien (2021), Perspektiven, Attersee (2021), WAF-Gallery, Vienna (2021), Daihatsu Rooftop Gallery, Vienna (2020), OEVERwerk, KiöR, Graz (2020), Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna (2020), EXILE, Vienna (2019), Galerie Lisa Kandlhofer, Vienna (with Karl Karner, 2019), Mauve, Vienna (2018), Milieu, Bern (2017), MUSA, Vienna (2016).
