Horizons of Perception
Liminality/Borders
28.10.2026
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Date
28.10.2026
Time
5pm - 7pm
Location
Kunsthaus Graz, Needle
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About the
Event
Guests: Eva Schlegel, Axel Maas (Institute of Physics, University of Graz), Sonja Rinofner-Kreidl (Department of Philosophy, University of Graz), Moderation: Katia Huemer (Kunsthaus Graz)
Artist Eva Schlegel explores the concept of liminal spaces and the transitions within our observation and perception. Through her series Liminal Spaces, she questions how we perceive space, its dimensions, and our own position within it. These inquiries mirror fundamental questions found in both philosophy and physics: What constitutes a border or limit in our perception? How do we conceptualize limits and boundaries in physics? And do we truly know where the border or limit of the universe lies?
Philosopher Sonja Rinofner-Kreidl examines the peculiarity of the concepts of liminality and border and how they relate to one another. Does liminality hinge upon limitations usually addressed as “the human point of view“? Should we distinguish different kinds and functions of borders, depending on different conceptions of space? Do we run into paradoxes when trying to grasp the idea of a border? Does liminality transform spaces? Or does it bring forth transformative experiences by, so to say, radicalizing our experience of space?
Horizons of Perception
Horizons of Perception is an invitation to move around the edges of what we know—and to look beyond.
As a part of the thematic focus of Kunsthaus Graz in 2027 Outer Spaces, Horizons of Perception is a series of lectures and conversations that opens spaces between disciplines, perspectives, and ways of thinking and grasping the reality around us.
Each encounter begins with a selected concept/keyword, which are connected also to the exhibitions forming nods and reference points where fields and disciplines meet and intersect, allowing perspectives from the humanities and the arts, philosophy and physics to overlap, resonate, and unfold alongside one another.
Rather than seeking a single answer, Horizons of Perception invites us to move across different horizons of thought: to look at familiar questions from unfamiliar angles, to trace connections between seemingly distant perspectives, and to explore how our ways of perceiving the world are shaped, challenged, and expanded.
Taking place once a month at Kunsthaus Graz, the series is open to all and free of charge. Each gathering takes one of two forms: three short lectures, bringing distinct perspectives into dialogue, or a collective discussion in which ideas can meet, diverge and take unexpected directions.
The series is developed in collaboration with the University of Graz - the Department of Philosophy, the Institute of Physics and the interdisciplinary core research area Perception: Episteme, Aesthetics, Politics at the Faculty of Humanities – as part of the annual programme at Kunsthaus Graz in 2027, Outer Spaces, devoted to exploring ideas and concepts of space.
University of Graz | Institute of Physics, Department of Philosophy and the interdisciplinary core research area Perception: Episteme, Aesthetics, Politics at the Faculty of Humanities
Further information
This conversation will be conducted in German.
Sonja Rinofner-Kreidl is a philosophy professor at Graz University. She is co-speaker of the core research area Perception: Episteme, Aesthetics, Politics and a key researcher of the Cluster of Excellence Knowledge in Crisis (FWF, 10.55776/COE3]. Her research focuses on (meta-)ethics, theory of emotions, philosophy of mind, and epistemology. She published two monographs on phenomenological conceptions of intentionality, subjectivity, and temporality (2000, 2003), and co-edited several volumes, among others, with John Drummond, Emotional experiences: Ethical and social significance (2018). She published numerous articles on first-person perspective, relativism, autonomy, self-deception, epistemic authority and manipulation, fact / value dichotomy, emotional experiences like grief, shame, envy, gratitude, pride and arrogance, and other topics. https://homepage.uni-graz.at/de/sonja.rinofner
Eva Schlegel (* 1960 in Hall in Tirol, lives and works in Vienna), a recipient of the Austrian Decoration of Honour for Science and Art, is regarded as one of the most important voices in contemporary Austrian art. Her international recognition is also evident in her role at the Venice Biennale: in 1995 she represented Austria with her own works, and in 2011 she curated the Austrian Pavilion, for which Markus Schinwald provided the artistic programme. From 1997 to 2006, she taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, passing on her exploration of perception and space to her students.
Axel Maas was appointed as a university professor at the Institute of Physics at the University of Graz in October 2014. After completing his dissertation, he conducted research at the German Heavy Ion Research Organization before moving to Brazil as a postdoc at the University of São Paulo. He then worked at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. He subsequently joined the University of Graz as a postdoc. He also completed his habilitation here in 2011. From 2011 to 2014, he held a position at the University of Jena funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), followed by a Heisenberg Fellowship at the end of 2013. As part of his research, the scientist also collaborates with the LHC particle accelerator at CERN in Switzerland.
