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Commissioned by the Kunsthistorisches Museum and created specifically for the unique setting of the Theseus Temple, Austrian artist Susanna Fritscher’s work is made up of thousands of translucent silicone threads stretched from ceiling to floor.
The installation appears to be in constant motion and responds to the motifs of the Temple’s neoclassical interior with a gentle vibration of air in natural light. Within this ethereal installation, the being takes on a new awareness of his materiality.
The threads and veils used by the artist are so volatile that they blend into the space in a slight rustle, a shine that makes movement palpable. The invisible be- comes visible in a slight undulation, a subtle poetic frequency.This work invites meditation in the privacy of the building and at the heart of the fragility of the being who contemplates this milky purity. Living in France since 1983, Susanna Fritscher realizes on a large scale her first institutional exhibition in her native country.
Inspired by the Theseion of Athens, the Temple was built in 1823 by the Ita- lian architect Pietro Nobile to house the white marble of Antonio Canova, a mythical masterpiece of Theseus slaying the Centaur.
This huge sculpture remained alone in the museum until 1890 before being installed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Since 2012, the museum has given back its initial vocation to this fabulous place. It once again houses a single work of art for each exhibition.Its whiteness, restored to its original state, gives the whole an incomparable elegance.
A diaphanous power, a silent force of great beauty, the magic of the mo- ment is here suspended in its flight.
Susanna Fritscher, Theseus Temple, Vienna © Susanna Fritscher