General Alert. Wars that Have Never Ended

Opening: 21 October 2022, 16–23
22 October–13 November 2022
Thursday 16–20, Friday to Sunday 12–18

Erste Campus and ERSTE Foundation (Am Belvedere 1, 1100 Vienna), Wiedner Gürtel 4, Wiedner Gürtel 8, Wiedner Gürtel 14 (all 1040 Vienna), Stand 129 (Viktor-Adler-Markt 129, 1100 Vienna), Gleis 21 (Bloch-Bauer-Promenade 22, 1100 Vienna; only on 21 October 2022)

With: Heimrad Bäcker, Sokol Beqiri, Ștefan Bertalan, Pavel Brăila, Geta Brătescu, Anna Daučíková, Róza El-Hassan, VALIE EXPORT, Tomislav Gotovac, Ion Grigorescu, Sabine Groschup, Sanja Iveković, Anne Marie Jehle, Anna Jermolaewa, Nikita Kadan, Alevtina Kakhidze, Šejla Kamerić, Alina Kleytman, Ana Lupaș, Dimitrije Bašičević Mangelos, Roman Ondak, R.E.P. Group, Erna Rosenstein, Zorka Ságlová, Wilhelm Sasnal, Erzen Shkololli, Mladen Stilinović, Ceija Stojka, Slaven Tolj, Milica Tomić, Endre Tót, Zsuzsi Ujj, Jasmila Žbanić, Artur Żmijewski…

curated by Silvia Eiblmayr in collaboration with Kathrin Rhomberg
exhibition architecture by Walter Kräutler

Russia’s current war of aggression against Ukraine makes clear how war, with all of the attendant ramifications that have played a historical role in shaping Europe’s geopolitical, social, and economic circumstances, has never truly ended. “General Alert” is borrowed from the title of a work that Sanja Iveković created before the backdrop of the Yugoslav wars in 1995. And in keeping with the Kontakt Collection’s concept, this exhibition is focused on works from Eastern and Southeastern European countries as well as from Austria, most of which are owned by Kontakt itself. Their themes are of relevance to the wars in Ukraine and in former Yugoslavia as well as to the Holocaust. Also included are works that deal more generally with the subjective, the existential, and the corporal, including expressions of melancholy, injury, anxiety, and criticism as well as manifestations of tension vis-à-vis political reality. This presentation is to take place at various locations in Vienna’s 4th and 10th districts.

Supported by ERSTE Foundation and Erste Group Bank AG