Christian Kosmas Mayer
Time in Suspension
21. 7. – 2. 8. 25
What if we didn’t create art for the present, but for an unknown future? What if those who first see our works aren't even born yet? This workshop invites participants to explore such questions by creating an artistic time capsule – a container of artworks crafted today, to be discovered 50 years from now. Through collaborative brainstorming, hands-on tasks and reflective discussions, we will create works that speak to a distant audience.
In the process, participants will learn how to transform conceptual ideas into tangible artworks, enhancing their ability to move from inspiration to realisation. They will explore techniques for working with materials, focusing on durability and preservation, and will gain an understanding of how materials can act as messengers across time. A guest conservator will offer expert guidance on ensuring longevity. Additionally, an excursion to the Salzburg Provincial Archive will let us explore a 70-year-old time capsule, opened in 2024, as inspiration for our own creations. Together, we will seal our time capsule and store it at Hohensalzburg Fortress, safeguarding our present for future generations.
Information
- Venue
- Hohensalzburg Fortress
- Date
- 21. 7. – 2. 8. 25
- Teaching language
- English (German possible)
- Participation fee
- 670 Euro (reduced 495 Euro)
- Requirements
- Willingness to discuss and work in groups, and to engage in independent creative exploration and experimentation.
- What to bring
- Participants should bring materials they prefer to work with, such as paints, clay, fabrics, photo camera, notebook or digital tools.
- Maximum number of participants
- 20
Christian Kosmas Mayer
Christian Kosmas Mayer’s cross-media and installation-based works and projects are the result of extensive artistic research and close collaboration with experts from various disciplines. His works aim at a critical re-evaluation of history and the present by placing evolutionary and natural phenomena within a cultural-historical and scientific framework. A central focus of his work is the exploration of questions surrounding archiving and conservation as acts of historical awareness.
Website
Exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions:
2023 and yet you grow, MAK Center, Los Angeles, CA (US).
2022 The Life Story of Cornelius Johnson's Olympic Oak and Other Matters of Survival, Austrian Cultural Forum, New York, NY (US).
2022 En deux mille cent quatre-vingt-un, le monde entier verra sa fin, Galerie Mezzanin, Geneva (CH).
2019 Aeviternity, mumok – Museum für Moderne Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Vienna.
2019 Unverhofftes Wiedersehen, Galerie Nagel Draxler, Berlin.
2013 Musis et Mulis, Belvedere, Vienna.
Selected group exhibitions:
2024 Heaven can wait, Innsbruck International Biennial of the Arts, Innsbruck (AT)
2023 SHIFT – AI and a future community, Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (DE)
2023 On Genes and Human Beings, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden (DE)
2022 Welcome to Planet B, Ars Electronica Festival, Linz (AT)
2019 Daguerre's Soup, Kunstforum, Vienna
2017 Publishing as an Artistic Toolbox: 1989–2017, Kunsthalle, Vienna
2016 Mit anderen Augen – Das Portrait in der zeitgenössischen Fotografie, Kunstmuseum Bonn (DE)
2015 Flirting with Strangers, 21er Haus, Belvedere, Vienna
2008 Manifesta 7, Rovereto (IT)
2004 26th São Paulo Biennial, São Paulo (BR)
Prizes:
2022 Falling Walls Breakthroughs in Art and Science, Berlin
2020 Outstanding Artist Award, Ministry for Culture of the Republic of Austria
2011 Kardinal-König-Kunstpreis, Salzburg (AT)
Publications
Voice without Breath, Schaufler Lab@TU Dresden, Sandstein Verlag, Dresden, 2024
First Monograph, Phileas, DISTANZ Verlag, Berlin, 2023
The Book of Record of the Palm Capsule, Mark Pezinger Books, Vienna, 2020
Aeviternity, mumok, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne, 2019
