March 21–August 31, 2025
Vienna 1030
Austria
Maria Hahnenkamp (b. 1959 in Eisenstadt, Austria) has been working with, through, on, and even against photography for over thirty years. In her critical, feminist practice, she deliberately undermines the voyeurism of the media, rejects the passive consumability of images, and offers alternative perspectives on bodies, space, and social norms.
The starting point for her work is always a radical questioning of the power of images. Stereotypical representations of (female) bodies in art history, fashion, and pornography are the material basis for the artist’s challenging of representation and social norms.
In the late 1970s, Hahnenkamp first encountered professional photography through her work in commercial art. Her practical experience in print shops and advertising agencies enabled her to acquire the technical knowledge to work with photographic materials. As an autodidact, Hahnenkamp develops unconventional and unruly strategies in her art by rubbing off photographic prints, penetrating and cutting them up, or erasing them completely. In this way, Hahnenkamp uses her art to oppose the superficial commercialization of women’s bodies.
While her works contain references to the feminist avant-garde of the 1970s, she has developed a unique artistic approach that has forged new paths for a younger generation of artists. She uses the intersections between commercial and artistic photography as a productive and critical filter—both for her works and her exhibition concepts.
This exhibition at Belvedere 21 is Hahnenkamp’s first major institutional solo exhibition and was developed in collaboration with the artist. It does not follow a chronological or thematic arrangement, instead showcasing the complex interweaving of interests, critiques, and artistic strategies within Maria Hahnenkamp’s oeuvre. The selection of more than one hundred works illustrates central themes such as emptiness, space, craft, and ornament, as well as their thematic connections.
The show is accompanied by a catalogue published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Cologne. Texts by Clara Bouveresse, Rainer Fuchs, Ruth Horak, Christin Müller, and Stefanie Reisinger examine Maria Hahnenkamp’s work from art-historical, feminist, and media-theoretical perspectives.
Curated by Stefanie Reisinger. Assistant Curator: Ana Petrovic. Press contact: presse [at] belvedere.at / T +43 1 79 557-185. View press materials here.
