The End of the Beginning

In their final exhibition organized for the Civic Gallery of Bressanone, the two curators, Gerd Bergmeister and Josef Rainer, revisit the beginnings of their curatorial journey, which started precisely one year ago.

In that first project, Peter Sandbichler transformed the gallery space by covering its hard floor with layers of soft cardboard. This intervention created a new spatial experience—not only aesthetically and tactilely but also acoustically. Providing a stark contrast to this softness were the rigid glass works of Marlies Baumgartner.

It is fitting that the final exhibition in the series focuses on altering the very essence of the ceiling, turning it into a work of art. Petra Polli achieves this spatial intervention with an installation referencing vegetal elements and cerebral activity. This thematic thread is further explored within the gallery space by Irene Hopfgartner, who populates the room with birds and poisonous mushrooms, seemingly yielding distilled extracts. This is a transversal nod to the previous exhibition by Thomas Feuerstein and Christine Runggaldier, with its algae-producing machine and display of philosophical distillates.

The subtle irony of Siggi Hofer’s "ugly city" also finds echoes here, connecting to a broader narrative. All these works and the intricate web of cross-references converge in the creations of Lois Weinberger, where transformed nature, alchemy, architecture, and irony intertwine in extraordinarily brilliant and curious forms. Everyday elements are reimagined into something novel.

This exhibition, therefore, could have marked the beginning, yet it signifies the end—or perhaps, the end of the beginning.

Photo: Leonhard Angerer