Deputy Head of Institute:
Univ.-Prof. Hans Schabus
The Sculpture and Space program explores the diverse
possibilities of sculpture in relation to material, context, and its interaction with society and the environment.
The focus of the course is on connecting and locating the production of artistic works
with and within their social
environment. Engagement with the material is an important starting point. In the in-house studios, wood, metal or pre-cast
materials are worked on with the support of artists. This hands-on mentality is seen as a necessary corrective to an increasingly
digital world, and demand for this approach has grown steadily in recent years, influenced by a new awareness of objects and
materials. Since 2016 Sculpture and Space has shared its Paulusplatz location in Vienna‘s third district with the department
of Site-specific art. This former dairy factory contains workstations and seminar rooms as well as a dedicated exhibition
space. Where milk used to be sold students now design their weekly presentations. The courses offered include advanced workshops
(e.g., woodturning or blacksmithing), the teaching of theory and production, and regular field trips.
Part of the weekly
class meetings, in addition to their detailed discussion of a presented work, is a joint lunch.
The central focus
of the program is artistic practice and the examination of one‘s own
work, which is developed and discussed in dialogue
between the teachers and students.
Projects of the class that address a public are, on the one hand, the exhibition
series
„Pfeiler“, in which graduates present a new work.
The Skulpturinstitut is a non-site-specific, curatorial
format of the department, within which experts are invited to an event. For example, lectures by artists are regularly held
as part of the ALSV (Artist Lecture Series Vienna), organized by Ezara Spangl and Rainer Spangl in cooperation with the Skulpturinstitut.
