Guglielmo Castelli
Sweet Baby Motel

Kunsthalle Wien presents the first exhibition in Austria by Guglielmo Castelli (b. 1987, Turin). The exhibition at Karlsplatz comprises an entirely new body of work including painting, sculpture and a site-specific mural. Trained in theatrical scenography, Castelli has developed a distinctive iconography that draws upon the history of painting, architecture and literature. His compositions are characterised by an earthy, nocturnal palette and a fluid, dreamlike quality that is often difficult to locate in space and time.

Sweet Baby Motel presents seven paintings on canvas, each centred on a single figure who often appears weightless or enigmatically suspended in space. Limbs bisect compositions, imitating or morphing into scissors, both a recurrent motif and artistic tool within Castelli’s practice. Spotlit and costumed with harlequin prints, tights, puffed sleeves, gloves and ruffs, his subjects resemble the characters of a theatrical production, caught in a moment of reverie or quiet contemplation. Glimpses of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Hunters in the Snow (1565) or a patchwork of façades that recall the architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser add a Viennese accent to these compositions which are installed upon a 22-metre-long painted mural especially conceived for this exhibition. Inspired by the German fairytale Hansel and Gretel, it unfolds in the style of a story book, while remaining conscious of the movement and gaze and the different perspectives available within the space. At the centre of the mural, where the feet of the two protagonists meet, Castelli depicts an upturned gingerbread house, questioning preconceived narratives around hierarchy and control.

The exhibition is accompanied by a new publication featuring texts by Sarah Crowe and Lillian Davies, as well as an interview with the artist by Francesco Manacorda. Published by Lenz, Castello di Rivoli and Kunsthalle Wien, the publication will be available from the end of March.

The exhibition is organised in collaboration with Castello di Rivoli Museo d‘Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli-Turin.