The forgotten artists of Viennese modernism: A long overdue comeback!

The forgotten artists of Viennese modernism: A long overdue comeback!

An exciting year 2025 is just around the corner and the Viennese art scene is celebrating two important exhibitions that focus on the work of women. The retrospective “City of Women” opens in the Lower Belvedere, focusing on the work of artists such as Elena Luksch-Makowsky and Erika Giovanna Klien. Despite massive disadvantages in access to art education and associations during Viennese modernism in the early 20th century, these talented women made a decisive contribution to art history. How Belvedere reports, this exhibition shows how many of these female artists have overcome limitations and founded their own associations in order to establish themselves in the predominantly male-dominated art scene.

Suburbia and the challenges of cities

At the same time, the “Suburbia” exhibition at the Architekturzentrum Wien addresses the social and spatial structures of living in single-family homes. As the director of the Architecture Center, Angelika Fitz, notes, this housing model is based on deep social and ethnic segregation. An alarming finding is that the urban sprawl in Austria increased five times from 1975 to 2020, which has also affected the challenges of food delivery services, which will be documented in the Vienna Museum from the end of February. It highlights the personal stories of suppliers facing time constraints and precarious conditions, while also sharing their hopes and dreams. ORF highlights that Austria has 1.5 million single-family homes, many of which are unused.

These two exhibitions shine a spotlight on the art created by women and at the same time on the complex living conditions and urban challenges in Vienna. The contribution of the artists who fought for a place in history and the discussion about the future of suburban space invite everyone to engage with these important issues.