SUPPAN

Moving away from the western understanding of beauty, Michael Ornauer concentrates on the spirituality of the Japanese aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi, the contemplation of imperfection and impermanence. In his paintings, the artist deals with the matured, veiled and broken, by over painting colourful finished paintings with blackboard paint and then bringing out the underneath layers of paint through final sanding or carving. Monochrome painting is a crucial part of Ornauer’s work and especially the black monochromes are of particular interest, as this specific application has something ultimate, absolute. As a colour body, black rarely occurs in nature, it is most likely caused by combustion or decomposition processes. In the western world, the colour black is associated with death and mourning, whereas in Japan, black stands for life and is perceived as positive. The negation of the colour black in Europe, at least, can be traced back to Greek antiquity. Since then, the pair of opposites white and black has been used all too often to represent good and bad. Black was used for centuries to represent the evil and uncanny until it experienced certain rehabilitation since the art of the 20th century. Of the two „achromatic colours“ black and white, Ornauer likes to give the first one preference. Black has depth and diversity. It is the colour, or rather the (original) state of the cosmos, which as well as in his paintings are broken up by small points of light / colour points. Black is the space from which things arise and in which they disappear again. Michael Ornauer’s understanding of the colour black is based on the Far East way of thinking. For him it stands neither for death nor destruction, but much more for life, but also for the mystical, the unknown.

MICHAEL ORNAUER Born 1979 in Vienna/Austria EDUCATION 2007 – 2008 | Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Meisterklasse Amelie von Wulffen 2003 – 2006 | Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Meisterklasse Hubert Schmalix TEACHING POSITIONS 2012 – 2014 | Freelance lecturer, Städelschule Frankfurt SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2022 | 16×12, SUPPAN, Vienna 2021 | Das Gewicht der Farbe, SUPPAN, Vienna 2019 | Das Spektakel des Sichtbaren, Galerie Rudolf Leeb, Vienna 2015 | Artist’s Space Le Meridien, Vienna 2011 | Artist’s Space Le Meridien, Vienna 2008 | Galerie Konzett, Vienna 2005 | Galerie am Lieglweg, Neulengbach GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2021 | DEAD FLOWER, SUPPAN, Vienna 2021 | Sinnesrausch, SUPPAN, Vienna 2021 | sommer.frische.kunst, Kraftwerk, Bad Gastein 2020 | Winter Show, SUPPAN, Vienna 2020 | Summer Show, SUPPAN, Vienna 2020 | Standby, Galerie Rudolf Leeb, Vienna 2017 | Curators Choice and Artist Tribute. REMIX, Vienna 2010 | Georg-Eisler-Preis 2010. Ausstellung der nominierten KünstlerInnen, BA Kunstforum 2008 | Umdenken, Katholischer Akademikerverband der Diözese St. Pölten 2005 | New Romantics, Museum of Young Art, Vienna 2005 | Art Position 2005, Ottakringer Brauerei, Vienna 2004 | Art Position 2004, Ottakringer Brauerei, Vienna AWARDS 2010 | Nominated for Georg Eisler award, Bank Austria Kunstforum

SUPPAN, founded in 1974, is a Vienna-based contemporary art gallery presenting a selection of contemporary and modern artists as well as artist estates. In addition to solo exhibitions and major retrospectives, the gallery organizes curated thematic group shows, aiming to establish a dialogue between contemporary artists and selected historical artists from the 20th century, sometimes with artists also outside their exhibition programme. Since 1974, the gallery has organized over 200 exhibitions, presenting their gallery programme within their various on-site gallery premises as well as off-site, with exhibition projects at the Belvedere 21 Museum, Vienna; Albertina Museum, Vienna; Künstlerhaus, Vienna; Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest; Austrian Cultural Forum, New York; Austrian Cultural Forum, London and more. With SUPPAN EDITION, the gallery runs its own in-house publisher, where over 50 publications, including catalogue raisonnés, artist monographs and art historically complied books, have been published. After a long history of organizing art historically relevant exhibitions, publishing books and being represented at national and international art fairs, such as Art Cologne and Vienna Contemporary and more, the gallery managed to build trust and a strong network with curators, collectors, museums and artists to help realize important museum exhibitions as well as to take a curatorial and advisory function for corporate and private art collections.