OXFORD.- Modern Art Oxford presents the first solo exhibition in the UK of acclaimed Austrian artist Kiki Kogelnik (1935-1997).
Fly Me To The Moon comprises work by Kogelnik from the 1950s to the 1980s, focusing on the subject of technology and its impact on the body.
Rising to prominence in the mid 1950s in Vienna, Kogelnik was later encouraged by American artist Sam Francis to move to the United States where she became friends with luminaries of the New York art scene including Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg.
Engrossed by the vitality of New York, Kogelnik’s work and lifestyle underwent a dramatic shift as she experimented with sculpture, prints, ceramics and performance. In Fly Me To The Moon, works are presented which attest to her growing trepidation about the development of new technologies.
Inspired by advanced high-tech materials and the dehumanising effect of new technology in the 1970s, Kogelnik began to create a new series of bright vinyl ‘hangings’ such as Claes (1970). In these works, Kogelnik would trace the outline of a figure onto a large sheet of paper, transferring to vinyl and present it on metal clothes rails.
In an era of rapid technological advances, Kogelnik’s critique of the excesses of techno-capitalism is more urgent now than ever and has rendered her captivating work as vital and contemporary as it was during her lifetime.
Kiki Kogelnik was born in 1935 in Kärnten, Austria, and died in Vienna 1997. She lived and worked in New York and Vienna. Kogelnik’s work has been featured in recent exhibitions including MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria (1996); Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna (retrospective) (1998); Kunsthalle Wien, Austria (2010); Brooklyn Museum, New York (2010); Hamburger Kunstverein, Hamburg (2012); Louisiana Museum, Denmark (2012); Barbican Centre, London (2013) and Kunsthalle Krems, Austria (2013). Kogelnik’s work will be featured in the forthcoming exhibition The World Goes Pop at Tate Modern, London (2015) and Mother of the Year at LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz, Austria (2015).
