1503. Mitgliederausstellung (“1503. Members’ Exhibition”) is appearing on the occasion of the same-named exhibition at the Künstlerhaus Wien. The exhibition—curated by Fanny Hauser and Georg Schöllhammer in collaboration with Johannes Porsch—confronts the present era of the Künstlerhaus with its polymorphic past in which the upheavals, conflicts and antagonistic tendencies in Austrian visual arts are paradigmatically represented. Featuring a dialogic constellation of current and historical positions and including selected archival material from the long narrative regarding the institution and its exhibitions, a wide range of clashing discourses from the past has been combined with debates now being conducted by contemporary art.
Christian Helbock has documented the 1503. Members`Exhibition photographically for this book. Thus, this publication has also become a photo book, in which the aesthetic diversity of the Künstlerhaus Wien comes to light. This variety is also reflected in the cover of the publication, for which all active members of the artists’ association were invited to furnish a depiction. A total of 191 members participated in the project. With these 191 different covers, the catalogue itself has been transformed into an extended exhibition space.