Liesl Raff: Club Liaison

For Austria’s first national participation at the Gwangju Biennale, Liesl Raff presents Club Liaison at the LEEKANGHA Art Museum—an expansive sculptural installation and performance space inspired by cabaret stages, fringe theatres, underground clubs and speakeasies.

The title picks up the idea of a liaison, an amorous relationship or form of exchange that flourishes inobscurity. The artist Liesl Raff has long been interested in notions of reciprocity, between the different materials used in her sculptures, the space and the viewer, and her collaborators and their own artistic practices. For the Austrian Pavilion at the LEEKANGHA Art Museum, Raff has chosen to work with latex, a natural, milk-like material that becomes rubbery when exposed to air and attaches itself to surfaces like a second skin. Hand-cast curtains in various shades of purple with a glossy, almost sweaty appearance, are lavishly draped around the space in different lengths and layers. With a stage at its centre, dim wall lights mounted on the surrounding walls, and the soundscape Zeitgeist composed by Austrian artist Karolina Preuschl, the distinction between on-and off-stage, retreat and performance area, is blurred. Club Liaison moves beyond a sculptural intervention, extending an invitation for social interaction and participation. Raff transforms the exhibition space into a sensory experience that opens realms and protective spaces of community and conviviality.

On selected evenings during the Biennale, Club Liaison will open its doors and hand over the stage to the live arts. The Austrian-based and Korean artists Luca Bonamore and Lau Lukkarila, Stina Force, Haepaary, Hyeji Nam, Danielle Pamp, Karolina Preuschl, Alex Franz Zehetbauer have different backgrounds—from contemporary dance to performance art to experimental music—but share an interest in practices where popular genres and forms of entertainment meet a conceptual and experimental approach. In a nod to Club Liaison being inspired by cabaret stages, they will explore the subversive potential of the absurd, the dramatic or the sensual. The performances investigate how the stage can be a place to push boundaries, insert subtle shifts and offer new readings destabilizing expectations and norms.

Liesl Raff (b. 1979 in Stuttgart, Germany) is an Austrian-based sculptor who is interested in the tactile quality of materials, and how to draw attention to them. In her installations, she creates niches, shelters and protective zones that offer places of retreat and a feeling of security. Raff’s work does not seek to impose a new function on materials or surroundings, but rather opens up a space for conversation.

Liesl Raff‘s exhibition in the Austrian Pavilion reinterprets and builds upon her project Club Liaison, which took place as part of her exhibition Liaison at fjk3—Contemporary Art Space, Vienna, from May–September 2023 and in cooperation with Wiener Festwochen.

In conjunction with the artist’s exhibition at the Austrian Pavilion of the 15th Gwangju Biennale 2024, the catalogue Liesl Raff—Club Liaison is published by DISTANZ Verlag, Germany. Further information can be found at distanz.de.

Performance programme
Alex Franz Zehetbauer: September 6, 3pm
Hyeji Nam + Stina Force: September 7, 7pm
Haepaary + Danielle Pamp: October 19, 7pm
Luca Bonamore and Lau Lukkarila + Karolina Preuschl: November 30, 7pm

The Austrian contribution to the 15th Gwangju Biennale 2024 is curated by Fiona Liewehr (artistic director, fjk3—Contemporary Art Space, Vienna). Carolina Nöbauer (Tanzquartier, Vienna) is responsible for the performance programme.

The Austrian Pavilion is commissioned by Phileas—The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art and co-financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport. Additional support is provided by the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. The Austrian Pavilion is hosted by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation at the LEEKANGHA Art Museum, Gwangju.

Phileas—The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art supports artists, curators, galleries and institutions in Austria and works to strengthen their presence within the international landscape of contemporary art. Through long-term partnerships with biennials and institutions around the world, it enables the production and exhibition of new artworks and their donation to public collections. Founded in 2014, Phileas—The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art is funded by the contributions of its private members and by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport.