Slice of Life. From Beckmann to Jungwirth

Drawing shields him against death and danger—holding fast to this conviction, the medical officer Max Beckmann braves the horrors of war and quickly find his footing again in a changed world after he is discharged from military service.

Art provides a safe haven in times of existential crisis: giving concrete form to their inner conflicts and distress lets artists relieve mental stress and heals psychological injuries they have suffered. By engaging with the questions of their own existence, they can also work toward change, toward a new outlook that lets them face the future with fresh hope.

Prominent works in the Museum der Moderne Salzburg’s collections were created in response to psychological and real-world emergencies and endeavor to overcome these experiences of crisis with an alternative vision. The paintings, graphic art, photographs, and objects on view reflect not only the personal, social, and political circumstances of their genesis. Rather, these works grapple with concerns that are more relevant than ever in our own world, which—with wars, the increasingly tangible impact of climate change, and the growing polarization of society—seems more and more out of joint.

With works by Max Beckmann, Margret Bilger, Lyonel Feininger, Greta Freist, Adolf Frohner, Richard Gerstl, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Martha Jungwirth, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Oskar Kokoschka, Alfred Kubin, Elsa Lasker-Schüler, Maria Lassnig, Marino Marini, Max Oppenheimer, Madame d’Ora, Florentina Pakosta, Arnulf Rainer, Rudolf Schönwald, Zbyněk Sekal, Sophia Süßmilch, Wilhelm Thöny