Welcome to the press page of the Austrian Sculpture Park!

Here you find information and press photos of the sculptures and current events

Whenever sculpture and nature encounter one another, afascinating dialogue is the result. As the seasons change, sothe interplay between the artworks and their surroundings changes, too. Just seven kilometres south of Graz, a unique art museum can be found in the open air: more than 70 sculptures by Austrian and international artists can unfold again and again in the generous landscaped architecture of the Austrian Sculpture Park throughout the year. Highlights include works by Nancy Rubins, Erwin Wurm, Werner Reiterer and Yoko Ono.

 

Image Credits

About the Austrian Sculpture Park

The Austrian Sculpture Park adds an important facet of contemporary art to the Joanneum Universal Museum portfolio. Founded in 2003, the purpose of the park is to show contemporary Austrian sculpture in an international context and the reciprocal relationship between nature, art and mankind. Art communicates here with the unique, subtle and yet distinctive landscaped setting designed by Swiss architect Dieter Kienast. The park and its more than 70 sculptures spotlight aspects of the history of sculpture, from classic anthropomorphic sculpture via the extension into furniture sculpture (and thus incorporation into ordinary life) to conceptual language works. The experience of time and space is explored in sundry materials, as are social topics in mutating or interactive exhibits. There are found objects, natural art works, landscape sculpture, garden sculpture, interventions, art as action – in short, the whole gamut of contemporary sculpture is there to be experienced.

Apart from the expansion of the collection and involvement in academic debate, visitor services, special guided tours and various one-off events are being developed under the aegis of curator Elisabeth Fiedler. In parallel, the unique ambience is available to organizers of cultural events and culturally-minded companies for events, receptions and presentations.

Sculpture and nature

In 2007, the Styrian provincial government, in agreement with the private foundation, made it possible for the Universalmuseum Joanneum to take over the operation of the park. With this step, the Austrian Sculpture Park was integrated into a well-founded scientific, artistic and cultural context and made known and accessible to a wider public.

The vocabulary of contemporary sculpture ranges from abstract sculpture to everyday objects, from anthropomorphic figurations to utilitarian objects, which in dialog with the environment can make statements about art, society, its conflicts and dreams and create spaces for encounters.