Vienna Around 1900 Reimagined at MAK Museum

Vienna around 1900 is being re-examined at the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts Vienna, as the institution unveils its newly designed permanent collection. This era is characterized by a drive for design to be more than mere decoration, transforming furniture, spaces, and everyday objects into stages for aesthetic experimentation and societal discourse.

Artist Markus Schinwald was commissioned to curate the reimagined collection, approaching the museum's holdings from a contemporary viewpoint. Instead of a traditional linear historical narrative, the new presentation features staged situations. These arrangements encourage objects to interact, shift scales, and offer new interpretations of familiar works.

A significant focus of the redesigned exhibition is the Wiener Werkstätte, a renowned Viennese arts and crafts cooperative. The Werkstätte's commitment to high design standards left a lasting impact on design history, and its contributions are prominently featured within the MAK's renewed display. The exhibition invites visitors to engage with the objects and understand their historical and artistic significance through Schinwald's unique curatorial lens.