September 7–December 1, 2024
Gwangju
South Korea
Liesl Raff has been selected to represent Austria at the 15th Gwangju Biennale in 2024. Commissioned by Phileas – The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art and co-funded with the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport, her exhibition marks the first national presentation of Austria at the Gwangju Biennale.
Phileas invited artists and curators to submit joint proposals through an open call, which were assessed by its International Advisory Board comprised of Lisa Gersdorf (Publisher, frieze, Berlin and London), Max Hollein (Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), Tessa Praun (Director and Chief Curator, Magasin III Museum for Contemporary Art, Stockholm), Hans Schabus (Artist and Professor, University of Applied Arts Vienna) and Simone Subal (Gallerist, New York).
The Austrian Pavilion in Gwangju will be hosted by the LEEKANGHA Art Museum. Liesl Raff's exhibition builds upon her 2023 project Club Liaison, presented at fjk3—Contemporary Art Space, Vienna, in cooperation with Wiener Festwochen. Club Liaison was an exhibition, immersive installation and setting for live performances, an aspect which will be further developed for the exhibition in Gwangju through collaborations with Austrian and South Korean artists. The pavilion will be curated by Fiona Liewehr (Artistic Director of fjk3—Contemporary Art Space, Vienna) while the performance programme and production will be overseen by Carolina Nöbauer (Tanzquartier Wien) and Florian Mayr respectively.
“The concept of Liesl Raff and Fiona Liewehr impresses with its strong artistic vision and embraces contemporary positions through the collaboration with Austrian and international performance artists. Austria’s first national participation at the Gwangju Biennale is a strong signal of the country’s diverse art scene. We look forward to the transformation of the LEEKANGHA Art Museum and to discovering Liesl Raff’s artistic cosmos”, said Lisa Gersdorf on behalf of the jury.
“In my sculptural practice, I am interested in spaces that enable a coming together and interaction between the audience and the work. Club Liaison is inspired by notions of cabaret, vaudeville or the “speakeasy,” but also pansori, and the transformative power that lies in these social spaces, storytelling and collective experiences. It is a great pleasure and honour for me to represent Austria at the Gwangju Biennale and to contribute to the exchange between the Austrian, South Korean and international art scene.” Liesl Raff
Liesl Raff (born 1979 in Stuttgart) is an Austrian-based sculptor who is interested in the tactile quality of materials, and how to draw attention to them. She has become known for her works in latex, which she uses for its versatility, its stretchability, the way it adapts to different surfaces and appears almost like a second skin. In her installations, niches, shelters and protective zones offer places of retreat and a feeling of security. Raff's work does not seek to impose a new function on materials or surroundings, but rather to open up a space for conversation.
The 15th Gwangju Biennale will take place from September 7 to December 1, 2024, curated by Nicholas Bourriaud under the title Pansori—A Soundscape of the 21st Century.
For further information, please contact press@phileas.art.
