Vienna-based curator and producer Anne Avramut is embracing a bold, culturally-driven contemporary expressionist movement in her curatorial latest projects. She’s an art book editor writing about appropriation, exploring the world of street art and pop art, producing exhibits for museums, galleries and public institutions across Europe. Anne is young, driven, and committed to keep creating change in the art world that further pushes the boundaries of diversity and representation; so we sat down with her to talk about how she got her start and what’s next while navigating the covid-era as a creative planner.

Tell us a little about you. How did you get your start in the art world?

“I’m a curator living in Vienna. Originally from Romania, I studied Classical Archaeology and Philosophy in Vienna and later on, Cultural Property Protection in Krems. In reality, I was born into the art world, my father being a painter and me growing up in the art scene. Nevertheless, I’ve tried to distance myself for a long while from the arts, while taking a more “scientific”, historical route with my interests. Through the years I stayed in close proximity to the arts working occasionally with artists on their exhibition, catalogues and art books. At some point, I realized that half my workload was involving arts and the other one historic projects and that was the Eureka moment when I decided to embrace this course of work and focus mainly on art projects. Ever since I’ve worked with galleries and museums from Los Angeles, to Astana or Taipei.”

What initially inspired you to start working toward creative direction and curation?

“I can’t identify an initial moment as ground zero. I grew up surrounded by art and in my father’s studio, visiting other artist’s studios and attending exhibition openings. I guess it became my second nature. Classical archaeology, where my scientific roots are, is a discipline dealing with images and in a certain way an archaeologist's task is to make sense and understand images that come from a time based on very different paradigms than the current ones and often come without an accompanying text. Minoan archeology especially, the field I worked in for almost 10 years, was deemed like a picture book without text, since we are still not able to decipher Linear A, the written language used by Minoans. That’s what I’ve been doing all along – trying to understand and figure out images, which is not very far from what an art curator and art writer does. As in an archaeological display, as a curator I try to communicate and display a red thread, the meaning that I recognized in art.”

Tell us about some of your latest exhibits. How do you typically navigate the process from bringing ideas into real life?

”Here I have to wistfully remember the beginning of 2020, the last exhibitions are a bit far back, ever since we are globally struggling with the COVID pandemic.

In January 2020, I curated the solo show “As a matter of principle” by the painter Alessandro Painsi at the Show Gallery in L.A. This was a great cooperation with Show’s gallery director, Margot Ross who made it possible to display a bold series of minimalistic word-paintings. The pieces shown were executed solely in spray and hand-sewn into collages, and in terms of colors were held within the primary range. Since it was his first solo in the U.S. I decided to create with Alessandro a show revolving around core issues and notions relevant and determining for contemporary society: xenophobia, generation, adventure, presidency. These principles of society are challenged and being globally deconstructed and redefined and we wanted to express this.

At the fair One Art Taipei, 10 days later I went for a different approach. Since the fair was held in a hotel I decided to explore the meanings “home” through a dualistic approach similar to the principles of Ying And Yang. Dialectically, on one side stands the notion of home: geographically a home country, a city, a house and emotional, spiritual: family and love. Alessandro Painsi has left his country and family as early as with 17 to pursue his career as a professional artist and his emotional home within his family and the circle of loved ones was his anchor away from home. At the same time, he mastered through his art what all humans are striving for: finding home in oneself, in one’s own inner universe. To visualize these concepts, we built a wooden room within our booth room, a room within a room. The walls themselves being a site-specific installation using sketches, bills and scraps accumulated in the days before the fair. This was a real challenge, since neither me nor Alessandro have any experience or knowledge about building walls or statics. Fortunately, Nicole Dai, the owner of Be Fine Art Taipei has connected us with Mr. Wang, her frame-carpenter who turned out to be the ultimate ninja of all carpenters and who left us speechless with his craftsmanship! Without his help, the idea would have been just that – an idea, his hands brought it to reality.”

Which kind of art, topics and trends have caught your eye lately?

“I have spent the bulk of 2020 reading, researching, writing and researching some more. The positive aspect of the world slowing down and events being cancelled was the time to catch up reading. I’ve dived deep into photography, especially at the fusion point between photography and hyperrealism and dead-pan snapshot photography. The result were essays on the work of Katerina Belkina, who recently published a retrospective book with KOCMOC Berlin and one on the “Exit” series of Florian Reinhardt, soon to be published by Hatje Cantz Berlin.
What came on my radar throughout the last year is street art and the numerous ways it has permeate not only the visual arts, but so many aspects of contemporary culture. Sociologically it’s a phenomenon accompanying us in music, fashion, jewelry, décor, in public spaces and on private walls. I’m fascinated by the mechanism of how street art, over the course of approximately 40 years has evolved from being a marginalized and criminalized discipline to becoming main stream and determining all key aspects of contemporary culture. In the context of political and social movements against racism, homophobia, sexism, xenophobia and many more, street art has become a relevant voice calling out injustice and inequality.

Another thing that sprang to my eye is that art publications are more conscious on diversity and representation and that, slowly (ok, very slowly, much to slowly) the coverage changes from reporting on art made by white man, curated by white men, dealt by white men and bought by white men to a more appropriate diverse view on what’s going on in the arts. It’s baby steps though and we have a long way to go.

I also plunged into questions of sustainability and climate change since I’ve gone vegan 5 months ago and only started to learn how closely these subjects are interwoven with art. The Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna has been on the forefront on these subjects for years and has called 2019 a “´Biennale for Change” into existence, the theme for 2021 being PLANET LOVE.”

What’s the Viennese creative culture scene currently like?

“Vienna is a very special place. Until a few years ago, on the highway, before entering the city, one was welcomed by huge billboards advertising “Vienna is different”, which it is, in so many ways, ironically and de facto. Vienna is the former capital of the bygone Austrian-Hungarian empire and that atmosphere is still around: on the streets in the architecture, in the traditional coffee houses, in the museum, in conservative galleries. But this sleepy, dusty aspect is by far not all there is to Vienna and it barely scratches the surface.

Here culture and arts have a long tradition and it’s easy to dive into both themes and subjects of art history as well as stay at the pulse of the contemporary art scene.

The last year during the pandemic has been extremely rough on the cultural and art scene since events had to be cancelled, and theaters, museum and galleries had to close. The performative field is basically nonexistent and artists are struggling to survive. I feel extremely lucky in this context, since I could go on working in writing.

At the moment – suffering. In pre-pandemic times getting more and more international: in terms of artists exhibited in galleries, museums and art fairs. I have the impression that Vienna has excelled in the last years at finding a great balance between local and global/international art. A milestone was last year’s opening of the Albertina Modern, showing Austrian Art in a very diverse international context.

Culturally, Vienna has always been a melting pot.”

What are some of your goals for 2021? What’s next?

“There is of course a certain degree of uncertainty involving physical projects, but at the moment I hope for the best. This summer, in a cooperation project with the Kunstforum Vienna, I plan to show the Russian artist Vasily Klyukin and in winter I am cooperating with Be Fine Art for the Art Moments Jakarta Fair. I also focus a lot on writing working currently on a n art book project with Viennese artist Glod. On the other hand, traveling and seeing and experiencing art in real life, outside a screen will be a blast!”

Women in the Art World: Anne Avramut