Dóra Maurer: With each other

With each other takes its point of departure from an elaborate system of geometric as well as chromatic elements that Dóra Maurer devised some 30 years ago and has been developing ever since. For the façade of the Ringturm, an area of around 4,000 square meters that is widely visible in Vienna’s urban landscape, she creates a composition of six colors that dynamize the austere and rectilinear architecture of the building designed by Erich Boltenstern in the form of a mesh of precisely delimited strokes. In reference to the lively, often jocular piece of music, Maurer calls this interaction of the six colors Quod Libet—as a polyphonic and often contrapuntal form, the source melodies resound in it not in a row, but simultaneously. A reference to the polyphony of Central Europe, Dóra Maurer’s artwork not only gives rhythm to the historic façade of the American Modernist landmark in Vienna’s inner city, but also radiates from it to the surrounding area—whether as a hopeful visual anchor on the summery Danube Canal or as a symbolic lighthouse that reaches out beyond the borders.

An established representative of the Hungarian neo-avant-garde, Dóra Maurer is known for her geometric, often garishly colored structures, with which she humorously questions her audience’s visual habits. Born in Budapest in 1937, Dóra Maurer studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts. Her works have been shown in numerous international exhibition venues, most recently with a retrospective at the Tate Modern in London in 2019. She is at home in a variety of genres and media; in addition to paintings, she produces prints, photographs, films, and installations. Her series, which explore geometry, color theory, and various theories of perception, are at once playful experiments and scientific observations. In addition, the two neighboring countries of Austria and Hungary are also reflected in Dóra Maurer’s biography: Vienna and Budapest were starting points in the artist’s work for several decades, and she lived and worked alternately in both Danube metropolises.

Dóra Maurer: With each other
At the Ringturm from June–September 2022
On display in the Ringturm exhibition centre:
Dóra Maurer, Projekt Buchberg portfolio (1982)

Curator: Philippe Batka

Coinciding with Dorá Maurer’s façade installation, the series “Architecture in the Ringturm” dedicates an extensive personal exhibition to Otto Wagner student István Medgyaszay, which will be on view in the ground-level exhibition center of the Ringturm. 

István Medgyaszay: Architect of Hungarian Modernism
July 15–September 16, 2022
Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm, free admission
Closed on public holidays
Schottenring 30, 1010 Vienna