The Devil To Pay In The Backlands at Neuer Kunstverein Wien

Artists: Pablo Accinelli, Brishty Alam, Skip Arnold, Anna-Sophie Berger, Andreas Duscha, Anna Franceschini, Cristiano Lenhardt, Ursula Mayer, Elena Narbutaite, Matheus Rocha Pitta, Sara Ramo, Klaus Spiess & Lucie Strecker, Camila Sposati, Marina Sula

Exhibition title: The Devil To Pay In The Backlands

Curated by: Ursula Mayer and Bernardo José de Souza

Venue: Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna, Austria

Date: September 10 – November 12, 2022

Photography: kunst.dokumentation.com / Manuel Carreon Lopez. All images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Neuer Kunstverein Wien

Note: Exhibition text is available here

This exhibition navigates different narratives and archaeologies in an attempt to observe, learn and share a common ground with objects, creatures, images and technologies that although might appear uncanny at first, are strangely familiar to the senses of those eager to excavate the ulterior layers of reality in order to attribute meaning to unforeseen social-political contexts and cultural manifestations. According to geographer Milton Santos, history unfolds in the wake of an ‘unequal accumulation of time’, in the overlapping of artificial and organic matter, symbolic and material culture — and therefore space derives from both the past and present, allowing for latent futures to acquire shape.

As the result of an amorphous present, the symbolic and material elements in this show may take the shape of things yet to come. The brutal transformation of nature, the resignification of language and previously acquired knowledge sets the current, turbulent political sphere into a maelstrom of deconstruction and instability. The landscape, the body and their topographies become the arena for a semantic intercourse that explores the limits of plasticity in current times. On the verge of a virtual collapse of meaning experimented in our times, The devil to pay in the backlands enquires about the future sideways, perhaps enabling us, as Catherine Malabou expresses, ‘to see (what is) coming’.

The Devil To Pay In The Backlands, 2022, exhibition view, Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna

Cristiano Lenhardt, Trair a espécie, 2022. Installation, Carrà fruits. Courtesy of the Artist and Fortes D’Alloia & Gabriel. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Brishty Alam, Variations I, 2018. Expanded polystyrene, putty. Courtesy of the Artist. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Camila Sposati, Ring, 2020, Ceramic/metal, Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Georg Kargl. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

The Devil To Pay In The Backlands, 2022, exhibition view, Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna

Anna Franceschini, Smooth operators #4, 2022. Iron, electric motor, flocked resin hand. Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Campoli Presti. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Matheus Rocha Pitta, Untitled, 2022. Cardboard, cement, black velvet and chocolate and paper. Courtesy of the Artist and Galeria Athena, Rio de Janeiro. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Marina Sula, Bench I “no needs”, 2019. Steel leather, seat belts. Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Gabriele Senn, Vienna. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Ursula Mayer, A Pound of a Flesh, HD video, loop of animated anatomic heart on 3D Led fan. Courtesy of the Artist. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Marina Sula, Bench II “jotter pad”, 2022. C-print on archival paper, acrylics, steel; Bench III “Reserviert”, 2022. C-print on archival paper, acrylics, steel. Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Gabriele Senn, Vienna. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Anna Franceschini, Smooth operators #2, 2022. Iron, electric motor, flocked resin hand. Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Vistamare Milano. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Marina Sula, Bench III “Reserviert”, 2022. C-print on archival paper, acrylics, steel, Detail. Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Gabriele Senn, Vienna. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Brishty Alam, Variations II/III, 2018. Expanded polystyrene, putty. Courtesy of the Artist. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Anna Sophie Berger, Inventur/Taking Stock, 2020, Courtesy of the Artist and Galerie Emanuel Layr. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Andreas Duscha, Tresor (winning hearts and minds), 2016, Silver nitrate, steel. Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Christine König. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Matheus Rocha Pitta, Feed, 2021, silkscreen on cardboard. Courtesy of the Artist and Galeria Athena, Rio de Janeiro. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Ursula Mayer, Birth of a Sentient Cosmic Mouth Conflux Fields Bind Eternity Astral Supreme, 3 LED text panel. Courtesy of the Artist. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

The Devil To Pay In The Backlands, 2022, exhibition view, Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna

Sara Ramo, Elo (Link), 2022, Mixed Materials, Detail. Courtesy of the Artist and Fortes D’Alloia & Gabriel. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Pablo Accinelli, Duración interna, 2018. Bags of cement, inflatable pillows. Courtesy of the Artist. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

The Devil To Pay In The Backlands, 2022, exhibition view, Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna

Skip Arnold, MARKS, 1984. 13 min., color, sound Courtesy of the Artist and Gallery Christine König. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Klaus Spiess & Lucie Strecker, Hasenblut + / Hare’sBlood + (2015/2022), Courtesy of the Artists. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Pablo Accinelli, Duración interna, 2018. Bags of cement, inflatable pillows, Details. Courtesy of the Artist. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

Sara Ramo, Elo (Link), 2022, Mixed Materials, Detail. Courtesy of the Artist and Fortes D’Alloia & Gabriel. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022

The Devil To Pay In The Backlands, 2022, exhibition view, Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna

Anna Sophie Berger, Inventur/Taking Stock, 2020, Detail. Courtesy of the Artist and Galerie Emanuel Layr. The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Exhibition view, NKW 2022