Vienna museums celebrate female artists this autumn

This autumn, Vienna's cultural landscape is set to highlight the significant contributions of female artists, with several museums dedicating their programming to women's work. The Albertina museum is launching a major exhibition titled "Her Story" as part of its anniversary year, examining the representation of female artists within its collection over its 250-year history.

While the Albertina's project is noted as being somewhat late compared to similar initiatives globally, it reflects a growing international commitment to reassessing art history and giving prominence to women artists. Museums worldwide are increasingly undertaking such projects, with institutions like the Kärntner Museum moderner Kunst having already completed similar exhibitions.

The trend also includes prominent solo exhibitions focusing on historically overlooked female artists. London's Tate Modern is currently showcasing works by Frida Kahlo and Ana Mendieta, while the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum's exhibition on Old Master Michaelina Wautier has been adopted by the Royal Academy. These shows underscore a continuous effort in discovering and re-evaluating female artists across centuries.

In Vienna and Lower Austria, museums are continuing this focus throughout the summer and fall. The Belvedere museum, under its departing director Stella Rollig, is presenting a program featuring almost exclusively female artists in her final year. This includes exhibitions of artists like Anni Albers, Sue Williams, and Friedl Kubelka vom Gröller.

Currently, the Orangerie at the Belvedere hosts a compelling exhibition on Erna Rosenstein, a Polish-Jewish avant-garde artist previously unknown in Vienna, despite having studied there in the early 1930s. The exhibition delves into her life, including her involvement in the communist movement and her artistic responses to personal tragedy, such as the murder of her parents. Rosenstein's work, spanning surrealism, biomorphic abstraction, and material collages, serves as a powerful testament to her resilience. The Belvedere will also feature another artist alongside Rosenstein in mid-September.