Artists

Magali Reus

Press release

Kunsthalle Wien presents a major new solo exhibition by Magali Reus (b. 1981, Den Haag). It brings together over 80 sculptural works produced between 2014 and 2026. Installed within a specially-conceived architecture that will occupy the first floor of Kunsthalle Wien’s Museumsquartier building, Tenant is one of the largest exhibitions of Reus’ work to date and the first in Austria. The work of Magali Reus consists in keen observation of the vernacular, the wildly absurd details of everyday life. Vessels such as jam jars, sardine tins, washing detergent packaging and pizza boxes are the subjects of sculptural investigations in which forms are translated, altered and remade in series. Scaled-up and combined with other imagery, Reus defamiliarizes these objects, transforming their colours, materials and surfaces. Other works reimagine elements of architectural or industrial design such as modular seating, windows, road signs, lampposts and drainpipes. Employing a combination of artisanal and industrial methods, Reus meticulously reproduces these objects of utility allowing them to ‘shed their function and enact a different image of themselves’. This exhibition focuses on the last 12 years of Reus’ work and her ongoing engagement with questions of control, communication and the coexistence of nature and culture in public and private space. Central to this inquiry is Reus’ interest in civic and spatial architecture and its role in shaping behaviour and movement. The exhibition includes several new works, some of which are inspired by Vienna, combining references to its architecture and confectionary. The exhibition is accompanied by a new publication in German and English including essays by Michelle Cotton, Brian Dillon, Cédric Fauq and Vanessa Peterson and an extensive interview with the artist by Lynn Kost. Reus will contribute to Kunsthalle Wien’s series of artist editions sold in support of Kunsthalle Wien’s programme. Magali Reus: Tenant is organised in collaboration with Kunst Museum Winterthur and CAPC Musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux.