
*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
Exhibitions with Martha Jungwirth
Fall Exhibitions Munich
FALL EXHIBITIONS IN MUNICH Kunst⁵ 20. - [...]
Distance Episode 1
Distance Episode 1 07.05. - 07.06.2020 [...]
Martha Jungwirth – Malerei
06.03. - 18.04.2015 MARTHA JUNGWIRTH Painting [...]
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