Raum mit Licht

The focus of Onka Allmayer – Beck’s ceramic design is on the idea of vessels in the broadest sense, vessels that are an integral part of everyday life without prior determination, waiting to be used in a favourable way. They all have a foot zone and a body zone and seem to be mobile and at the same time resilient in their own way. Their physiognomies, which have escaped the course of progressive evolution, faithfully reflect the conditions under which they were created: drying processes play a decisive role, as does the temperature of the firing and, last but not least, the dimensions of the kiln. To this end, the artist likes to experiment with haptic sensations on the surfaces, using glossy glazes, mixing, and scattering, or roughening. But it is only when the pottery has cooled down completely that the final shape is determined.

Onka Allmayer – Beck was born in Vienna in 1979, attended the well known Art School of Central St. Martins in London from 2001 to 2004, studied fashion design there and became soon successful working for prestigious design studios in Milan. Constrained in her creative development, she decided to return to Vienna in 2016 and bought a kiln. She gained her first experience working for a ceramist in a traditional family studio. However, the decisive impulse for the challenging building technique, to which she has remained faithful to this day, was given to her during a study visit to Russia, north of Moscow.

Raum mit Licht is a gallery for contemporary art. In the ambience of a former key factory it opened its doors in Vienna in 2008. Artistic direction and management are in the hands of Josephine Wagner, a graduate of the University of Applied Arts. The gallery programme includes Austrian as well as international positions. Preferably, artists are presented in the curatorial format of thematic solo or dialogue exhibitions.