Neue Galerie Graz leaves Palais Herberstein

The closing-down and removals phase at the Neue Galerie began on November 2nd, 2009. The administration, library, archives and collection of the museum will now move from their previous headquarters in the city (Palais Herberstein on Sackstrasse) to the new collection and study centre in Graz-Andritz. On completion of construction work for the Joanneumsviertel (‘Joanneum district’), the Neue Galerie will re-open in November 2011 in the museum building on Neutorgasse 45.

From the 1960s onwards, the Neue Galerie has characterised the development of art at both a national and international level, presenting Trigon and other major special exhibitions, often in collaboration with the steirischer herbst festival. Theme exhibitions such as “Kontext Kunst” (1993), “Pittura Immedia” (1995), “Phantom der Lust” (2003) and “Un/Fairtrade” (2007) have become part of art history. Many now world-famous artists were first exhibited at the Neue Galerie Graz, embarking on their international career from here: among them Erwin Wurm, Herbert Brandl, Pipilotti Rist, Sylvie Fleury and Olafur Eliasson. Neue Galerie exhibitions have brought legendary and famous personalities from the world of philosophy and art to Graz, from Jean Baudrillard to Slavoj Zizek, from Helmut Newton to Frank Stella and Robert Wilson. In 2008 the Neue Galerie also succeeded in founding BRUSEUM, a centre of excellence and studies for one of the most famous internationally relevant artists, Günter Brus.

In recent years, the Palais Herberstein location has proven to be increasingly unsuitable for the requirement profile of a contemporary museum operation. By moving to the Joanneum district, situated near the provincial library, the multimedia and the natural science collections, the hope is that the Neue Galerie will achieve the standards in terms of infrastructure, personnel and technology that it needs in order to be able to hold its ground as a successful museum in the face of growing national and international competition. Its location in the “Joanneum main building” Neue Galerie will also make it a highlight of the Joanneum.

As 2011 kick-off is planned an individual exhibition about Olafur Eliasson. The Neue Galerie presented Eliasson in 2000, the installations, which were mostly created specifically for that exhibition, included an artificial waterfall in the Neue Galerie courtyard, which went on to become Eliasson’s trademark (see his world-famous New York waterfalls of 2008). Another highlight of the re-opening will be the new installation of the collection. The “Wilhelm Thöny (Graz, 1888 – New York, 1949)” individual exhibition planned for 2012 stands in close relation to the Neue Galerie collection. As one of the most important Austrian artists of the first half of the 20th century, Thöny will in addition be honoured with a catalogue raisonné based on the latest research. Not least, this represents the fulfilment of a longstanding desire on the part of the Neue Galerie and the public. The Neue Galerie would like to thank Steiermärkische Sparkasse for their support in extending the Thöny collection.

Our new address as of January 2010:

Neue Galerie im SSZ-Sammlungs- und Studienzentrum
Weinzöttlstraße 16, 8045 Graz-Andritz
t +43-316-8017-9322 | f +43-316-8017-9370
neuegalerie@museum-joanneum.at | www.museum-joanneum.at/de/neue_galerie