About

SKULPTURES PLÖCKING

Opening: Friday June 21 from 5 pm (opening speeches from 7 pm)
(for further possibilities for viewing / dates see TOURS and OPENING HOURS)

Artists:
Istvan Antal / Brigitte Kowanz / Annie Laakso / Imre Nagy / Esther Stocker / Reinhold Zisser

Speaking at the opening:
Nina Ansperger / Adrian Kowanz / Johann Müllner / Gustav Schörghofer / Maximilian Titz / Gabriele Pöll

a project by Reinhold Zisser / LLLLLL Association for Contemporary Art

SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING is an art in public space project realized in Lower Austria near Maria Gugging. The project forms the gap between an established art and cultural discourse at the location and the unique habitat of the Vienna Woods. The aim of the project is to create a space in which artists and visitors can experience the interaction between art and nature together. The Plöcking is a so-called goods road and, running over a hill, connects Maria Gugging with Hintersdorf over a length of almost four kilometers. From the highest point, the view opens up over Klosterneuburg, as far as Vienna and the wind turbines in the Marchfeld behind it. In the first phase of the project, five sculptures by six artists will be installed along this path. THE ORIGIN AND FUTURE of the project can be traced back to art projects in public space, which began in 2015 with the Notgalerie project and have built up a network of national and international artists over a period of almost 10 years. On the other hand, and this is related to the tasks of the Notgalerie project, the aim of SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING in the coming years is to create a place in Hintersdorf that brings together artists and visitors. CULTURAL LANDSCAPE MUSEUM GUGGING / ISTA / SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING thus creates a bridge that connects the cultural location of Gugging with the small village of Hintersdorf in the Vienna Woods. The institutions located in the immediate vicinity are the Museum Gugging and the ISTA. The Museum Gugging has been the museum center of the artists living there since 2006. It represents the body of Art Brut work developed at this location over a much longer period of time and keeps it alive. The ISTA (Institute of Science and Technology Austria) is a young international institute dedicated to basic scientific research and postgraduate education and promotes a discourse on contemporary art at the interface with science. This constellation enables visitors to experience the institutionally shaped art-culture discourse as a transition to the intimate, personal experience of nature and landscape.

Arrival

The Plöcking connects Maria Gugging with Hintersdorf. This gives you the opportunity to explore SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING from both points.

Note: The start from Gugging is suitable for those arriving by public transport.

→ Arrival start Gugging (by public transport)
From Vienna: U4 to the terminus Wien-Heiligenstadt. From Heiligenstadt take bus 400 or the IST-Austria shuttle bus (142 - Mon.-Fri. only) in the direction of Maria Gugging/Lourdesgrotte to the stop “Maria Gugging IST Austria”. Please get off here and follow the information on the map (here) to the start of SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING If visitors walk via SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING to the adjacent village of Hintersdorf, they have the option of taking the local cab Taxi Berger 02242 72700 to Gugging or St. Andrä Wördern (train station) for a standard rate of €5 IMPORTANT - call the cab 30-45 minutes before arrival - make a reservation.

For information on public transportation back to your starting point, please see the next section under Arrival / Departure Hintersdorf.

Important note: Unfortunately, Google Maps does not list the mentioned bus connection to Maria Gugging. We recommend alternatives such as vor.at or oebb.at

→ Arrival / Departure Hintersdorf
By public transport: Monday to Friday: Bus line 405 runs from Hintersdorf Feuerwehr to Maria Gugging and, if necessary, to St. Andrä Wördern. Saturday / Sunday: Bus line 415 runs from Hintersdorf Feuerwehr to St. Andrä Wördern. Both options can be found on vor.at.

By car: GPS address: "3413 Hintersdorf, Hauptstraße 32". This will take you to the Hintersdorf municipal office. Parking is available in front of the school and the municipal office at this address. From there, walk about 100 meters slightly uphill along the main road until you can turn right onto Plöcking Street.

Works

SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING stretches over a length of around 3.5 kilometers and leads to the village of Hintersdorf. The following map shows the location of the individual sculptures. The map shows the surroundings and the points where the sculptures can be seen.

The opening will take place on June 21. The works presented here will be on display from this date.

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1. Imre Nagy (FLUIDUM)

The shape of the Fluidum sculpture was developed over a three-year process at various locations. The plinth shape originally designed by Notgalerie and studio-itzo was further developed by the artist Imre Nagy, who lives in St. Andrä Wördern. In his arrangement, he created a connection between the sculpture and the surrounding nature. He achieved this through a colony of bees, which is housed in the plinth and collects flowers from the Plöcking over the summer to produce honey. Above this living form, he placed a cool steel object entitled “Gate of Emptiness”. The viewer encounters these different levels as an initial point when exploring SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING from Maria Gugging.

2. Esther Stocker

“Masking tape 5 cm, possibly also 2 cm, white dispersion, black dispersion, 1 brush, for white, approx. 3-5 cm wide, 1 brush for black, approx. 7 cm or wider, paint rollers can also be used instead of brushes, cutter, ruler, triangle, wall” The instructions for designing the mural or panel painting “DREAM ESTATE PATTERNS” by Esther Stocker begin with this sentence. She developed the concept in 2021 in collaboration with Reinhold Zisser (Notgalerie). Intended as a guide and opportunity for residents of Vienna's largest urban expansion area (Seestadt) to paint a work by the artist on the wall with their own hands, in their own four walls, the only realization (realized by the artist herself) reappears years later here in the Vienna Woods.

3. Reinhold Zisser - Turm, mit Einschreibung “OMG” von Brigitte Kowanz

In 1980, VOEST manufactured a twelve-metre-high steel tower that was used as the bell tower of a new modern church building. In 2020, the church was demolished after less than forty years and the land was sold on to a construction company. Instead of ending up as scrap metal, the profaned bell tower ended up with Reinhold Zisser and became part of the Notgalerie work complex. In this context, Brigitte Kowanz developed a concept for an inscription entitled “OMG - Oh My God”, which was realized in summer 2020 and has been part of the multi-layered object ever since. The tower is a central element of SKULPTUREN PLÖCKING and stands for the understanding of the art project as a tool for creating and promoting an artistic and social community.

4. Annie Laakso (WALDPAVILION)

Annie Laakso on her work: “I am interested in space: the production and perception of it. In my artistic work I have occupied spaces, by a transitory space, which I have built using found materials, found in my neighborghood, and given to the local citizens. Most of my works are temporary walk- in installations, which the visitor can enter.I work with hands with simple tools. Works can be seen both as sculptures and a creation of usable social spaces. Using found materials and garbage my works are kind of a poor architecture. I develop alternative tactics to consumption and invent a personal low -tech technology. My working method resembles the one archeologist has, though my work has not historical accuracy in that sense. I pick materials on the streets, sea and no-man`s land and build a sculpture or installation. I have worked in urban connection, in galleries and public places in the city creating places which are not privately own and open for everybody. The materials and forms of the spaces are in important role. Different materials and forms create different thinking.” Her sculpture Waldpavilion is part of a multi-part series of sculptures with the same basic form. The sculpture sees itself as a desert shrub, an uprooted figure whose basic form lands in an alien landscape, where it is shaped by the prevailing elements. The sculpture can be entered and offers seating inside and the opportunity to view the surroundings and landscape from the protected interior through the many viewing holes.

Istvan Antal (OUT-HANGING)

The installation “Out hanging” irritates the viewer with its ambiguity. It is not clear whether we are looking at the slide of a children's playground or an illegal border crossing. The artist plays with viewing habits and fundamental moments of our perception. Prejudices, desires, fears and longings are activated simultaneously, challenging the viewer to question their perception and interpretation of things that we encounter every day.

Tours

After the opening on June 21, guided tours will be offered regularly until fall 2024.

Further information / updates and details on the exact location of the individual sculptures, accessibility, etc. will be available here shortly, or on request at studio@reinholdzisser.com