Reopening of the Rupertinum building and inauguration of the Generali Foundation Study Center

Strengthening Salzburg’s standing as a center of higher learning: after several months of renovations, the Museum der Moderne Salzburg reopens its historic home, the Rupertinum building, with remodeled galleries and the new Generali Foundation Study Center and Franz West Lounge. The two inaugural exhibitions Visual Wit and Social Critique and Rediscoveries and New Acquisitions showcase the rich collections of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, now considerably enlarged by the addition of the Generali Foundation Collection on permanent loan to the museum.

In the early seventeenth century, under Archbishop Paris Lodron, the “Collegium Rupertinum” was a seminar for aspiring priests. The spirit of scholarship that has slumbered in the building to which it gave its name is now coming back to life in a center devoted to learning about and expertise in modern and contemporary art.

After several months of renovations, the galleries on three levels of the Rupertinum, with a total floor space of 4,300 square feet, feature a contemporary look and state-of-the-art technology. The redesigned rooms on levels 1 and 2 benefit from more open floor plans and views of the neighboring Salzburg Festival district. On levels 2 and 3, 3,800 square feet have been allotted to the newly created Generali Foundation Study Center, which houses a specialist library, archives, and an extensive video collection. The facilities also include a reading room with workstations and the Franz West Lounge with furniture designed by the artist on level 3.

“At long last, the remodeled galleries in the Rupertinum building are up to contemporary standards,” Sabine Breitwieser is pleased to note. “And we are extremely proud that the Generali Foundation Study Center, which holds one of the most important libraries and archives dedicated to contemporary art in Austria, makes the new Rupertinum a vital addition to the ensemble of institutions of learning and scholarship in Salzburg,” the Museum der Moderne’s Director adds. “We are proud that our efforts to raise the funds of 950,000 EUR for the renovation of the Rupertinum have been successful and pleased to see Salzburg’s standing as a center of art and culture enhanced,” State Minister of Culture Heinrich Schellhorn says.

Working with the renowned office Kuehn Malvezzi architects (Berlin/Milan), the allocation of functions and spaces at the Rupertinum was retooled to allow for a symbiotic union of exhibitions, preservation efforts, scholarly undertakings, art education programs, and a wide variety of forms of engagement with art. By encouraging hands-on research into its holdings facilitated by trained staff, the Study Center fuses visual immediacy and scholarly research for an immersive learning experience.

The Generali Foundation Study Center and the special exhibition on view in its rooms are accessible to the public free of charge; students and experts as well as members of the public who are curious about modern and contemporary art are invited to use the facilities.

The Generali Foundation Study Center
Highlights of the collections:
–Monographs on artists ranging from Oskar Kokoschka and Alfred Kubin across VALIE EXPORT, Andrea Fraser, Isa Genzken, and Sanja Iveković to Gordon Matta-Clark, Hans Hollein, Walter Pichler, Martha Rosler, Franz West, and Heimo Zobernig

–International exhibition catalogues on prints, photography, conceptual art, and sculpture as well as feminist and critical art, plus biennials, Documenta, and other major exhibitions

–Theoretical literature on relevant discourses since the 1960s such as institutional critique, media critique, and identity

–Current and historic art journals including Artforum, frieze, Texte zur Kunst, October, and Grey Room

–The extensive film and video collection with titles by VALIE EXPORT, Dan Graham, Harun Farocki, Elke Krystufek, Gordon Matta-Clark, Martha Rosler, Heimo Zobernig, and others

–Comprehensive archives related to the oeuvres of numerous artists represented in the collection

–Audio and video recordings of lectures and other events

Generali Foundation Study Center
at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg
Rupertinum Wiener-Philharmoniker-Gasse 9
5020 Salzburg, Austria
Hours: Tuesday–Thursday 10am–3pm and by arrangement
Free admission
studienzentrum [​at​] mdmsalzburg.at

Exhibitions in the Rupertinum buliding

Rediscoveries & New Acquisitions
140 Years of Art in the Generali Foundation Study Center

Visual Wit and Social Critique. Satire von Goya to Grosz
with an installation by Dan Perjovschi

Sharp eyes and deadly pens: the exhibition Visual Wit and Social Critique at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg presents masters of the art of pinpointing society’s ills. The exhibition will showcase works by Francisco de Goya, Honoré Daumier, William Hogarth, George Grosz and others from the museum’s own collections. The renowned artist Dan Perjovschi has created a new installation for the exhibition, which will be on view in the newly reopened Rupertinum building.

Additional hours during festival seasons: Monday 10am–6pm