Florentina Pakosta

The Infeld House of Culture in Halbturn exhibits figural narrative works of the versatile Austrian artist Florentina Pakosta. In her work, she responds to acute social issues. At the beginning of her work, she draws the male physiognomy and body language of power to draw attention to the discrimination of women. 

Thirty years ago, in response to the fall of the Iron Curtain, Florentina Pakosta increasingly dedicated herself to painting, creating the so-called Tricolor paintings she is known for to this day. This exhibition, which deals with the ambivalence of network and grid structures, is dedicated to the exhibition at the Infeld House of Culture. 

"Suddenly and unexpectedly, in 1989, the political and social landscape of Europe changed. The impossible became true: A new, previously unknown feeling for life prevailed. New joys, new hopes and new dangers and fears became perceptible - soaring high and nosediving at the same time. Little by little, I realized that the previously familiar form of my pictures and drawings was barely sufficient to convey the new emotional structures, so I struggled for colours and shapes that matched my new sense of being - I sought symbolism that would be the same for the freedom of new ideas," writes Florentina Pakosta. 

Shrill, colourful, aggressive, like lightning, the beams cross her work. When these beams meet, the impression of a spatial staggering of "above" and "below" arises. In this game between space and surface, the beams appear on the one hand in the same hierarchical level, on the other hand, you can see different levels. It is an impressive picture of social realities. Depending on the perspective, different truths about the hierarchies of our networks of relationships become visible. 

This also applies to the digital networks, which pretend to be a hierarchy-free, open zone but conceal power and business interests behind it. 

The work of Florentina Pakosta reminds us that human relationships in the digital age have lost face and emancipated themselves as machine-perfected networks of humans.

Biography of Florentina Pakosta 

Born in Vienna in 1933, she studied painting and graphics at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris.

Since 1971 member of the Vienna Secession, 1984 and 2003 personal exhibitions in the Albertina Vienna, 2011 retrospective in the Leopold Museum Vienna, 2018 retrospective in the Albertina Vienna and in the Sprengel Museum Hannover. Since 1975 she has published her own texts. 

Quotes by Florentina Pakosta

From "Vorsicht Mensch" (Publisher: Bibliothek der Provinz, 2018) 

"The art that we know comes from a male society that is rarely and only recently joined by women. It is one-sided, mentally incestuous and self-conscious."

"Art is, among other things, an illusion that teaches us to see reality more clearly."

"Out with the cozy, ingratiating beautiful colors! Every color should be a dangerous poison!"

"I am a visually reactive person, I want to see my thoughts. That's why I paint."

"A picture nobody has seen does not exist."