*1940 Vienna – lives in Vienna

The paintings by Martha Jungwirth (*1940) are powerful, explosive, exciting, sensory, emotional and sometimes silent and tender: Loose lines and compressed pastose, but also transparent marks and areas of oil paint on cardboard.

In the 1960s, Jungwirth’s painting was more strongly related to reality. Everyday objects, landscapes and the self appeared in her works. In 1968, Jungwirth had her first large-scale exhibition, in which she presented her works together with five other painters in the legendary exhibition ‘Wirklichkeiten’ (Realities), curated by Otto Breicha in the Wiener Secession. Besides collaborating with this diverse group, Martha Jungwirth forged her own way in the Austrian art scene unperturbed by international trends and the art market.

In 1977 she was invited to the documenta in Kassel, she took part in exhibitions in smaller museums and, from time to time, the Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg bought and exhibited her works. However, despite the constant, emphatic quality of her paintings, a large scale exhibition in an important museum remained absent.

When the well-known artist Albert Oehlen was asked in 2010 to curate an exhibition at the Essl Museum, he discovered Jungwirth’s works and immediately dedicated the entire exhibition room to her. Perhaps it is also thanks to Oehlen that in 2014 Jungwirth was finally appreciated by museums, with the Kunsthalle Krems putting on a retrospective of her work from the previous 50 years.

Today, Jungwirth has finally been recognised as a great Austrian painter. In 2018, she received the prestigious Oskar Kokoschka Prize awarded by the Austrian state. For the Albertina museum in Vienna, this was an ideal opportunity to present Jungwirth’s works in a comprehensive exhibition.

Publications

Available Works

Exhibitions with Martha Jungwirth

Solo exhibitions (selection)

2018 Kunstmuseum Ravensburg | Albertina, Vienna

2017 Stuart Shave, Modern Art, London | Martha Jungwirth, Galerie Haas AG, Zurich

2016 Kalfayan Galleries, Athens

2015 Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin

2014 Kunsthalle Krems

2013 Galerie Ulysses, Vienna

2011 Stadtmuseum Bruneck

2008 Kunsthaus Mürz, Mürzzuschlag

2004 Art-Galerie Schloss Gabelhofen, Fohnsdorf

2001 Galerie Hohenlohe, Vienna

2000 Künstlerhaus Klagenfurt

1999 Museum Moderner Kunst – Stiftung Wörlen, Passau | Kulturhaus der Stadt Graz

1998, 1996 Galerie Contact, Vienna

1994, 1991 Museum der Moderne – Rupertinum, Salzburg

1986 Hellerfabrik, Vienna

1982 Kunstverein für Kärnten, Künstlerhaus Klagenfurt

1980 Galerie Nothelfer, Berlin | Galerie Suzanne Fischer, Baden-Baden

1976 Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna | Burgenländische Landesgalerie Schloss Esterházy, Eisenstadt, Kulturhaus Graz and Märkisches Landesmuseum Witten

1975 Galerie Contact, Vienna

1974 Galerie Klang, Cologne

1968, 1967 Galerie im Griechenbeisl, Vienna

1962 Galerie zum Roten Apfel, Vienna

Grants and Awards

2018 Oskar-Kokoschka-Award

2012 Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art

1986 City of Vienna Prize for Graphic Art

1982 Watercolour painting prize from the Austrian Federal ministry for Education, Arts and Culture

1980 German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship in Berlin

1974 Biennale of Graphic Art prize, Florence

1973 City of Vienna Prize

1969 First prize for painting at the 20th youth-culture week in Innsbruck

1966 Joan Miró Prize, Barcelona

1964 Theodor Körner Prize

1961 Otto Mauer Prize

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