Muntean / Rosenblum | „The Always Never-Yet“
Untitled (Knowledge would not necessarily...), 2023 | Pastel, chalks, oil on canvas | 195 x 293 cm
Muntean / Rosenblum

The Vienna-based artist-duo Markus Muntean (AT, 1962) and Adi Rosenblum (IL, 1962) draw inspiration from the relentless passage of time and the state of expectancy that defines many people’s daily lives in ,,The Always Never-Yet.” Here, they explore pathos — the art of evoking emotions to engage viewers — fully embracing the viewer’s ideals and harnessing symbols and visual formations to evoke intense emotional energy. In a world where pathos often resides in popular entertainment and advertising, Muntean/Rosenblum aim to revive its potency in fine art.

In the artwork Untitled (,,Knowledge would not necessarily…”), seen above, young people appear somewhat adrift on an escalator within what seems to be a shopping mall. This superficially mundane scene carries an unsettling atmosphere, reflecting the peculiar nature of our everyday existence. It highlights how the ordinary, like a shopping mall, can acquire an eerie quality, evoking unexpected emotions.

Untitled („What lies ahead seems unlikely...“), 2023 | Pastel chalks, oil on canvas | 157 x 189 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Available

Muntean/Rosenblum’s work transcends mere aesthetics, inviting viewers to appreciate the intricacies of composition, the sources of their models and landscapes, the allure of their figures, and the meticulous craftsmanship they employ. This attention to form and detail serves as a gateway to understanding the multifaceted, clever nature of their art, which delves deeply into the collective human condition. In an era of digital communication, it underscores the importance of shared struggles in human connection, like the universal frustration of waiting in an airport, depicted here, or the isolation felt by individuals engrossed in their phones while surrounded by others.

Untitled („To locate the silence in between“)

Untitled („To locate the silence in between“), 2023 | Pastel chalks on paper | 48 x 35 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Untitled („The present rearranges the past“)

Untitled („The present rearranges the past“), 2023 | Pastel chalks on paper | 48 x 35 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Untitled („An abundance of all kinds of absence“)

Untitled („An abundance of all kinds of absence“), 2023 | Pastel chalks on paper | 48 x 35 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Untitled („The wrenching difficulty of change“)

Untitled („The wrenching difficulty of change“), 2023 | Pastel chalks on paper | 48 x 35 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

In ,,The Always Never-Yet,” Muntean and Rosenblum artfully juxtapose the emotional gravity of classic paintings with the modern visual lexicon popularized by platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Spotlighting young individuals using recognizable hand gestures, from the peace sign to the heart, they bridge historical art with today’s digital expressiveness.

Untitled („As vast as the horizon of heaven“), 2023 | Pastel chalks on paper | 35 x 48 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Available

Their pieces challenge the viewer to see beyond the casual, finding depth in the convergence of past and present, highlighting the universality of human expression that transcends both time and medium. This blend of somber faces with contemporary gestures emerges not just as a sign of the times, but as a profound exploration of emotion and identity.

Untitled („We do not have...“), 2023 | Pastel chalks, oil on canvas | 208 x 296 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Sold

Untitled („Memory is the space"), 2023 | Chalk/acrylic on canvas | 215 x 125 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Available

The starkness of black and white serves as a canvas for the duo’s experimentation with chalk and oil. Eschewing color lends a timeless quality to these pieces, an homage to the enduring spirit of classicism. Often, artists resort to monochrome to distill focus, removing the distractions of color, and to imbue the artwork with a raw, unadulterated emotion. Muntean/Rosenblum’s grayscale pieces are a demonstration of this very idea, underlining the nuances that the contrast of light and shadow can unveil.

Adding depth to the exhibit, a film piece seemingly vivifies scenes reminiscent of iconic canvas moments. Echoing past works like Nobody Said Anything and The Twilight of Our Hearts, Muntean/Rosenblum unveil six videos featuring dancers: Kris Elyr Adem (choreographer), Ornella Prieto, Maria Ribas, and Annalisa Capriotti.

One dancer disrupts the serene tableau with a TikTok-inspired hand dance, only to gracefully revert to stillness. Jip Mus captures these fleeting instances, complemented by Ayrton Speet’s evocative score. Guided by Kris, the dancers merge contemporary techniques with timeless sentiments. This project epitomizes Muntean/Rosenblum’s progression, blurring the lines between static art and dynamic expression, as though artworks the artworks have momentarily stepped out of their frames, acquiring movement, yet retaining their essence.

Untitled („To hope is dangerous...“), 2023 | Pastel chalks, oil on canvas | 158 x 189 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Available

Untitled („It is very simple...“), 2023 | Pastel chalks, oil on canvas | 151 x 187 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Available

Among the main highlights of the show are the large, sweeping scenes rendered in pastel chalks and oil. Muntean/Rosenblum’s skillful hands capture slices of everyday life. These expansive pieces serve as mirrors, reflecting the myriad emotions and interactions that punctuate our daily existence. The precision of pastel chalks, juxtaposed with the fluidity of oil, further accentuates the depth and dynamism of these narratives.

 

Untitled („What lies ahead seems unlikely...“), 2023 | Pastel chalks, oil on canvas | 157 x 189 cm

Muntean / Rosenblum

Available

Muntean and Rosenblum, through ,,The Always Never-Yet”, engage the viewer in a poignant dance between the present and the bygone, between color and grayscale, and between stillness and motion. Their artistry invites introspection, nudging us to find beauty, meaning, and resonance in the mundane, the overlooked, and the everyday. In a world increasingly governed by transience, this exhibit stands as a tribute to the timeless nature of human emotion and connection.

“We are together day and night. We share work and life. I think I could say by now that, at least on a professional level, but maybe on a personal one too, we have become one.”

— Muntean / Rosenblum

For inquiries into the works by Muntean/Rosenblum, please click on the button below:

Email Inquiry

ABOUT Muntean / Rosenblum

Markus Muntean was born in 1962 in Graz, Austria. Adi Rosenblum was born in 1962 in Haifa, Israel.
Muntean/Rosenblum live and work in Vienna, the city where they met while studying at the end of the 1980s. The artists have collaborated since 1992.

Large-scale painting is one of the core aspects of their practice. However, they often expand their work by creating large installations with sculptural elements where performances are staged or films screened. In addition, they make drawings as well as collages with texts and photographs.

In their work, Muntean/Rosenblum mix references to art history and present-day popular culture. They mostly depict groups of apparently lethargic or melancholic young people in idle situations, which are either ordinary and everyday or mysterious and ambiguous. The often-dreamy scenes take place in rooms, public spaces or landscapes as if part of a film, presenting unresolved situations in the making. The characters seem to adopt postures copied from fashion magazines, or from paintings originating from the renaissance to the nineteenth century. Their work is frequently accompanied by captions or texts not-directly relating to the depicted scene, adding another layer of complexity. The artists themselves described their work as ‘precise ambiguity’. By playing with visual codes from the past and the present, Muntean/Rosenblum scrutinise the power of images and how these constitute an overwhelming collective memory.

Work by Muntean/Rosenblum has been exhibited widely in international museums, institutions and galleries. Recent solo exhibitions were at Espacio Marte, Mexico City (2020); MAC, Coruña (2018); MOCAK, Krakow (2018); Group exhibitions they recently participated in were, among others, at Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2019); Kunsthaus Graz (2018); Nam June Paik Art Centre, Gyeonggi-do (2018); The Parkview Museum, Singapore (2017); and Oude Kerk, Amsterdam (2016). Their work is included in both private and public collections, such as the MoMA, New York NY; the Albertina, Vienna; 21c Museum, Louisville, KY; the KRC Collection, Voorschoten; The Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL, and Cobra to Contemporary/The Brown Family Collection. In 2022 the artist duo will mount an exhibition at the Albertina Museum, in Vienna, Austria.

GO TO THE ARTIST PAGE

RELATED