The VERBUND COLLECTION presents the first comprehensive retrospective in Austria of the French artist ORLAN from 22 March to 19 July 2023 at the Vertikale Galerie in Vienna.
In the 1990s, ORLAN caused a sensation with her surgical performance interventions on her body. Her early work, however, remained virtually unknown. The retrospective exhibition of around 50 works of art ORLAN. SIX DECADES at the Vertikale Galerie therefore focusses on the 1960s and 1970s and at the same time spans an arc to current works.
The VERBUND COLLECTION is showing the first exhibition of the renowned French artist ORLAN in Austria and is publishing the first German-language monograph on her work.
The exhibition took place from 22 March-19 July 2023.
To take part in a free guided tour every Wednesday from 18:30-19:30 and every Friday 16:00-17:00, please register at sammlung@verbund.com or call +43 (0)50 313-500 44.
We ask for your understanding that there are no guided tours on public holidays.
published by Gabriele Schor
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Delpire & Co
Edition: 2022
Language: French
ISBN 979-10-95821-48-9
In the 1960s, ORLAN created numerous feminist photographs in which she expressed the feeling of needing to break free from social conventions. She literally stepped out of the frame and constantly developed new forms of expression in her art. In the 1970s, she broke away from her given name, keeping the syllable "OR," which means gold in French, and adding "LAN." Her self-chosen name, written exclusively in capital letters, could no longer be assigned to a specific gender. At this time, she created her groundbreaking MeasuRAGE performances and the performance "The Artist's Kiss," in which she offered a kiss for sale for 5 francs at the FIAC art fair in the Grand Palais in Paris in 1977.
In the 1980s, ORLAN engaged intensively with the Baroque era. Inspired by Lorenzo Bernini, she staged herself as Madonna in different poses and created impressive fold sculptures. In her manifesto "L'Art Charnel" (Carnal Art), the artist wrote in 1989 the theoretical foundation of her surgical performance interventions, which she performed nine times from 1990 to 1993.
From the 2000s onwards, ORLAN increasingly dealt with topics from the field of biotechnology and robotics in her artworks, using techniques such as augmented reality and video animation.
