Brigitte Kowanz: Beyond Words

On March 22nd and 23rd, the University of Applied Arts Vienna organizes the symposium Brigitte Kowanz: Beyond Words. The symposium explores Brigitte Kowanz’s work in the field of tension between sculpture, architecture, language and the sciences, especially physics and cybernetics.

In more than 30 years of continuous work, Brigitte Kowanz has created an independent artistic vocabulary of light and thus established a new concept of sculpture, which is particularly oriented towards the linking of time-based media with spatial installation. Brigitte Kowanz was closely associated with the Angewandte for many years. First as a student, then as an assistant to Ernst Caramelle, and finally as a professor of Transmedia Art from 1997 to 2021.

During the symposium, the Ring of Honor of the University of Applied Arts Vienna will be awarded posthumously to Brigitte Kowanz.

You can find the schedule of the symposium via the button below:

See Schedule

ABOUT Brigitte Kowanz

Brigitte Kowanz (1957-2022) is known for her evocative sculptures, installations, and environments with a decidedly non-physical medium: light. Since the early 1980s, she has been exploring both the utilitarian and conceptual resonances of light with neon tubing, LED bulbs, aluminum, mirrors, and text. She draws upon such multidisciplinary sources as advertising, architecture, film, music, and the history of painting for inspiration. Through her use of mirrors, Kowanz aims to break down the boundaries between art and life, drawing viewers into her illuminated visions. Kowanz studied from 1975 to 1980 at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. She has been Professor of Transmedial Art there since 1997.

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