FRITZ SIMAK „in the key of life” – Fifty Years of Photography
Exhibition
Galerie Jünger Taubstummengasse 17/Ecke Favoritenstraße, 1. Stock - Beletage Top 8, 1040 Wien
18.9.—2.11.2025
Artists: Simak Fritz
Curator: Andrea Jünger
Starting in 1972, before he had even turned twenty, Fritz Simak created radical photographs that made him into a pioneer of Conceptual photography. For this, “he deserves to be recognized as a central figure of this period” (Peter Weibel). He found his motifs in his direct surroundings: in the rural environment of his childhood in Lower Austria, in Viennese cafés, and in architecture and art. The material that he works with, however, is not reality that is captured by a camera but the light from which the images are distilled.
Simak’s photographs tell of his relationship to the world that opens up new points of access to the viewer. In 1976 he photographed snowdrifts in the Weinviertel, Austria’s largest winegrowing region, like no other artist had ever depicted them. That same year, Stevie Wonder’s album “Songs in the Key of Life” was released. Simak inextricably associated the emblematic song “I Wish” with the landscape and atmosphere of his own childhood “sneaking out the back door.” At that point he was already studying art history at the University of Vienna—where he would later write his dissertation on the work of Ernst Haas, the first dissertation at the University of Vienna to ever examine a subject of contemporary photography.
Simak’s photographs tell of his relationship to the world that opens up new points of access to the viewer. In 1976 he photographed snowdrifts in the Weinviertel, Austria’s largest winegrowing region, like no other artist had ever depicted them. That same year, Stevie Wonder’s album “Songs in the Key of Life” was released. Simak inextricably associated the emblematic song “I Wish” with the landscape and atmosphere of his own childhood “sneaking out the back door.” At that point he was already studying art history at the University of Vienna—where he would later write his dissertation on the work of Ernst Haas, the first dissertation at the University of Vienna to ever examine a subject of contemporary photography.
Tue2–6 PM
Wed2–6 PM
Thu2–6 PM
Fri2–6 PM
Saturday and other dates by appointment
free entry Not barrier-free
Artists: Simak Fritz
Curator: Andrea Jünger
Starting in 1972, before he had even turned twenty, Fritz Simak created radical photographs that made him into a pioneer of Conceptual photography. For this, “he deserves to be recognized as a central figure of this period” (Peter Weibel). He found his motifs in his direct surroundings: in the rural environment of his childhood in Lower Austria, in Viennese cafés, and in architecture and art. The material that he works with, however, is not reality that is captured by a camera but the light from which the images are distilled.
Simak’s photographs tell of his relationship to the world that opens up new points of access to the viewer. In 1976 he photographed snowdrifts in the Weinviertel, Austria’s largest winegrowing region, like no other artist had ever depicted them. That same year, Stevie Wonder’s album “Songs in the Key of Life” was released. Simak inextricably associated the emblematic song “I Wish” with the landscape and atmosphere of his own childhood “sneaking out the back door.” At that point he was already studying art history at the University of Vienna—where he would later write his dissertation on the work of Ernst Haas, the first dissertation at the University of Vienna to ever examine a subject of contemporary photography.
Simak’s photographs tell of his relationship to the world that opens up new points of access to the viewer. In 1976 he photographed snowdrifts in the Weinviertel, Austria’s largest winegrowing region, like no other artist had ever depicted them. That same year, Stevie Wonder’s album “Songs in the Key of Life” was released. Simak inextricably associated the emblematic song “I Wish” with the landscape and atmosphere of his own childhood “sneaking out the back door.” At that point he was already studying art history at the University of Vienna—where he would later write his dissertation on the work of Ernst Haas, the first dissertation at the University of Vienna to ever examine a subject of contemporary photography.
Events related to this exhibition:
| 19—21 Uhr
Starting in 1972, before he had even turned twenty, Fritz Simak created radical photographs that made him into a pioneer of Conceptual photography. For this, “he deserves to be recognized as a central figure of this period” (Peter Weibel). He found his motifs in...
Opening hours:
Tue2–6 PM
Wed2–6 PM
Thu2–6 PM
Fri2–6 PM
Saturday and other dates by appointment
Address:
Taubstummengasse 17/Ecke Favoritenstraße, 1. Stock - Beletage Top 8
1040 Wien
Taubstummengasse 17/Ecke Favoritenstraße, 1. Stock - Beletage Top 8
1040 Wien