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Dreamland

We are not the only animals who dream when we sleep. Yet, only we can share those dreams afterwards and only humans make art. Will that still be the case tomorrow?
Do you have sweet dreams? Do you have nightmares? I think we all hope for the former when we got to bed at night. Who wants to wake up in terror? It’s different during the day. People watch horror movies and listen to Black Metal. Some hurt themselves. Artists embrace what is ugly and bewildering. Leaders make plans, which will never lead to paradise. Others give speeches full of hope: “I have a dream”.
We need our dreams, in whatever shape or form they present themselves. To make art is to make them work for you and for us all, in the medium of your choice. Machines cannot dream.
This exhibition is called DREAMLAND.

I was invited to curate an exhibition with five students from my class at the Angewandte. The theme came to me as I thought about how some students have taken up dreamlike themes in their recent work. Others may not have consciously thought along these lines, but here I, as a viewer, can project my ideas of dreamlike states onto their work. Whether they be sweet or nightmarish.
It is not for the artist to decide, what I – or you – will make of their work. Artists will always do what they can to control and direct the expression of their work. When the work is successful, the artist themselves will be surprised – like in a dream.

Tina Graf, Ivie Isibor, Fuko Katsuda, Timotej Kosmel and Felix Schwentner were born between 1995 and 1998 in Austria, Japan, Slovakia and Taiwan. They began their studies in the Department for Graphics and Printmaking at the University of Applied Arts Vienna between 2019 and 2021.

Jan Svenungsson


Jan Svenungsson

Was born in Lund in 1961. Since 2011, he has been professor of graphics and printmaking at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Fuko Katsuda

Born in Osaka, Japan, 1995. 


Night, just before nightfall, dusk.
Luminous houses. Steaming houses.
The smell of grass. The coldness of the iron fence.
Light smoke. Silence of concrete.

There is no evidence that these situations were ever real, because I can’t distinguish between dreams and memories, which means there is no proof that you are who you are or were.
I believe that self-doubt makes us human. And helps us let the right one glow.


Felix Schwentner

Born in Graz, Austria, 1995.

Simultaneous events. We are sitting here very much aware of what is going on
in multiple corners of the world. What do we do with all the information we
receive daily? We find ourselves in a land, that our grandparents and great-
grandparents dreamt about. We are seeing how everything can change from
one moment to another. How do they say it so beautifully and dark? – We are
awakening from a dream
.

Tina Graf

Born in Taitung, Taiwan,1997.

Stolen dreams cannot be returned.
Once they are taken, they take on new forms.

I am a thief.
I confess, I have been stealing dreams.
Found in a book, two old mens’ wet fantasies just seemed too tempting to me.

Ivie Isibor

Born in Vienna, Austria, 1997.

Are we able to rest
not to recharge for work
but to be at ease ?
Imagine we remain in a rested state.
What is there to dream about after we wake up, I wonder

Timotej Kosmel

Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, 1998.

I deconstruct images from digital photos and create paintings which are seemingly reminiscent of that process, but distorted into a negation of their origin
Fire is a symbol of destruction, but also of rebirth. It gives us warmth and light and helps us to survive. It also deconstructs.
Oil on canvas, Silkscreen, Lithography, experimental carborundum-silicone prints various dimensions