Tschlin

The 2021 Salzburg Emerging Artist Award Winner present new work.

Alpine Gothic spent part of last summer in Tschlin, a village situated at an altitude of over 1500 metres in the Lower Engadine. This Rhaeto-Romanic village consists mainly of old buildings decorated with typical sgraffito ornamentation. Almost the entire village was paved with cobblestones a few years ago. During the day it is mostly completely quiet in the village. One wouldnʼt hear much more than the splashing of water from the many fountains.

From intensive research during their stay there, Alpine Gothic developed an artistic approach to the context, which resulted in a performance in public space and subsequently led to a series of further artworks. In their exhibition at the Salzburger Kunstverein, a selection of these works is brought together in an expansive installation.

Alpine Gothic, founded in 2009
Christina Breitfuß (*1971, Schwarzach) lives and works in Lochen am See.

Erik Hable (*1968, Linz) lives and works in Salzburg.

Wolfgang Wirth (*1966, Innsbruck) lives and works in Vienna.

The artist collective ALPINE GOTHIC’s artistic practice is characterized by a participatory and socio-cultural approach. Their work aims to bring forms of contemporary art into a more regional environment, bridging the gap so to speak with agriculture and traditional culture. Via their work Salzburg artists Christina Breitfuß and Erik Hable as well as the Tyrolean artist Wolfgang Wirth analyze the traditional idea of Heimat in its current manifestations and translate this into their artistic practice. Their projects are complex but also humorous and aesthetically accessible. Alpine Gothic seek out the regional population to subtly integrate them in their work while deliberately avoiding voyeurism or the perpetuation of clichés. Altogether their work consists of a low-key deconstruction of aspects of the idyllic homeland that has become alienated from its original meaning.