Art News

Austrian avant-gardist Curt Stenvert is subject of exhibition at Vienna’s Belvedere

VIENNA.- The Austrian avant-gardist Curt Stenvert (1920–1992), who was born as Kurt Steinwendner, had made his first appearance as a painter, before he gained international recognition with his films and, starting in 1962, with his object art. NEODADAPOP is the first show to present the artist’s complete oeuvre. During his studies under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Fritz Wotruba at the Vienna Academy, Stenvert primarily dealt with the themes of movement and perspective, which found their expression in sculptures made of aluminium and acrylic glass. His Violinist in Four Phases of Movement (1947) earned the founder member of the legendary Art Club admiration from renowned colleagues, including Marc Adrians: “Standing in front of it, one was simply astounded that it was possible to dissolve a sculpture into movement.” Movement remained one of the central elements in Stenvert’s work and became a crucial