Austrian contemporary artists seek bigger presence

By Venus Lee

Fifteen Austrian artists established the Austro-Sino Art Program (ASAP) as the first step to drawing their government’s attention to the importance of culural communication with China, as well as to promote Austrian visual art.

Several of the artists spent Tuesday at Anniart Gallery in 798 Art District making last-minute floor arrangements to their group exhibition tomorrow: the first joint show by Austrian artists in China – and not the last, they hope.

A group is born

The exhibition, titled “Mifan,” showcases works based on cultul differences the artists encountered while living in China. But it’s goal is to draw attention to Austrian talent.

“Chinese people can immediately identify Austrian musicians such as Mozart, Johann Strauss, Shubert, choenberg and Haydn. But they know little of our visual art – which is also brilliant – because the only cultural exchange between our two nations so far has been focused on music,” d Karel Dudesek, the 55-year-old co-founder of ASAP.

In contrast, Chinese contemporary art is popular in Austria, Dudesek said. “Chinese contemporary artists, like Ai Weiwei, who is regarded as the leaing Chinese contemporary art, are very famous in my country,” he said.

“What’s more, France, Britain and Germany have held Culture Year in China, but Austria hasn’t done that,” Dudesek said, referring to an eveeaturing a foreign country’s culture and traditions. Holding such an activity in China is one of ASAP’s immediate goals.

The idea for the group was born during one of the artists’ gatherings at 798 Art District last year. “There was an expressed desire by those present to show our China-produced work in China and a hope for a more strongly represented Austrian community abroad,” Dudesek said. “We must do something to show peopln China what we have done in the country … Because although the artists work here, they send their work back to Vienna and no Chinese audience ever see it.”