{"id":50719,"date":"2022-08-24T04:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T03:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=50719"},"modified":"2025-02-16T18:19:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T17:19:46","slug":"unseen-places-photo-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/unseen-places-photo-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Unseen Places photo exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplacessmall.jpg\" alt=\"Kunst Haus Wien architecture\" class=\"wp-image-50720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplacessmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplacessmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Suffering for your art takes on another dimension in the case of photographer, Gregor Sailer. His photos of inaccessible architecture in often inhospitable regions feature in the Kunst Haus Wien&#8217;s <em>Unseen Places<\/em> exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unique aesthetics and subjects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sailer draws attention to socioeconomic, political &amp; environmental change<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Sept 15, 2022 to Feb 19, 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/hundertwasser\/\">Kunst Haus Wien overview<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/#photography\">Photography exhibitions<\/a> in Vienna<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gregor Sailer&#8217;s art<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"313\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplaces1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of a Norwegian military installation in winter by Gregor Sailer\" class=\"wp-image-50614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplaces1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplaces1-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Gregor Sailer, Milit\u00e4rstation, Norway 2020, from the series The Polar Silk Road \u00a9 Gregor Sailer, Bildrecht Wien 2022)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve ever put yourself through a little hardship just to catch the right shot of some building or architectural feature, then you share the spirit of Austrian photographer Gregor Sailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sailer, though, takes things to a different level, as revealed in the <em>Unseen Places<\/em> exhibition. His subjects are the remote, the restricted, the abandoned, and similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These subjects stem in part from the photographer&#8217;s interest in the landscape transformation and change that arises through environmental, political, economic and even military developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we see, for example, snow-driven defence installations in Norway, subterranean industrial complexes, and fake roadscapes built for car testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The images seem to fall somewhere between art, documentation and creating a catalyst for broader discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, the photos of various &#8220;Potemkin villages&#8221;, such as townscapes built for military training purposes, feel like paintings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The images possess a haunting, ethereal, even bizarre, quality. An other worldliness or almost post-apocalyptical touch of science fiction, aided by the almost total absence of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Staying with the art theme, Sailer&#8217;s <em>The Box<\/em> photos of an abandoned underground WWII aircraft factory exude a surreal starkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That series, along with other images of industrial installations (both defunct and active), combine the art of photography with a historical record.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"302\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplaces2.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of an industrial site in Qatar by Gregor Sailer\" class=\"wp-image-50615\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplaces2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/unseenplaces2-300x181.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Gregor Sailer, Industrial Site, Ras Laffan, Qatar, 2010, from the series Closed Cities \u00a9 Gregor Sailer, Bildrecht Wien 2022)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the emphasis across <em>Unseen Places<\/em> is largely on exposing us to places we can never see as private individuals and thus to the issues associated with such locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The series (and 2021 photo book) <em>The Polar Silk Road<\/em>, for example, points a lens at the Arctic and raises the subjects of exploitation and geopolitical tension in the region. (Not to mention global warming undermining the permafrost foundations of buildings there.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Sailer notes in an <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/style\/article\/gregor-sailer-polar-silk-road\/index.html\">interview<\/a> with CNN:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>My job as a photographer is to go to these lesser-known places, where things that influence our society are happening, and bring these events to light<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Sailer&#8217;s interests can, of course, see him tackling both physical extremes and complicated administrative hurdles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Planning projects takes years, and two display cabinets in the exhibition illustrate some of that process with photos, correspondence and other documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was lucky enough to talk with Sailer at a preview and his commitment to his work is inspiring. A wonderful exhibition!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy access to the inaccessible from September 15th, 2022 to February 19th, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The photo exhibitions at the Kunst Haus Wien require a museum entrance ticket that also gets you access to the excellent Hundertwasser Museum in the same building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Should you wish to take your own architectural photos, Vienna has plenty of historical buildings for artful images. But two areas of note for those pursuing more 21st-century joy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The modern campus of the University of Economics and Business is an Instagram paradise (take the U2 subway to Krieau station)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Developments in and around the new Hauptbahnhof railway station (a stop on the U1 subway)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>(A nice photo of contrasts is to stand at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/belvedere-sites\/upper-belvedere-palace\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3521\">Upper Belvedere palace<\/a> and look south across the lake and historical gates to the Hauptbahnhof high-rise cluster behind.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And Vienna has another major photo exhibition across late autumn and early winter: a huge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/helmut-newton-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"49739\">Helmut Newton retrospective<\/a> at the Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien. Find more photo exhibition tips <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/#photography\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>See the main <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/hundertwasser\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"17067\">Kunst Haus Wien article<\/a> for travel tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Untere Wei\u00dfgerberstra\u00dfe 13, 1030 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1iOrIVM2NXQVnv3C1Srpr5hQRTGy-mqYg\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Suffering for your art takes on another dimension in the case of photographer, Gregor Sailer. His photos of inaccessible architecture in often inhospitable regions feature in the Kunst Haus Wien&#8217;s Unseen Places exhibition. Gregor Sailer&#8217;s art (Gregor Sailer, Milit\u00e4rstation, Norway 2020, from the series The Polar Silk Road \u00a9 Gregor Sailer, Bildrecht Wien 2022) If [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50719"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80462,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50719\/revisions\/80462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}