Artist Talk (EN)
Sophie von Hellermann & Michelle Cotton

From October, Kunsthalle Wien’s vitrine in the MuseumsQuartier presents a new 62-metre painting by Sophie von Hellermann. This large-scale public artwork is the second in a new series of annual commissions for the vitrine that extends around the south-western wall of Kunsthalle Wien’s building on the outer arch of the MuseumsQuartier. Von Hellermann’s paintings draw variously on fiction and reality, referencing characters from legend, myth and fables alongside history, popular culture and current affairs. This new work considers the epistemology of ideas in honour of Oswald Wiener, under whom Sophie von Hellermann studied at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Just as the painting wraps around the building, the title Get Your Head Around It unfurls a story of human knowledge and understanding.

The commission forms the focus for a special event on the occasion of VIENNA ART WEEK where Sophie von Hellermann will be in conversation with Michelle Cotton, Artistic Director Kunsthalle Wien.