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BiographyLight is what we see (Addition), 1999
Brigitte Kowanz (Vienna, Austria 1957-2022)
The artist studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna from 1975 to 1980 and was a professor there from 1997 to 2021. In 2009 she was awarded the Grand Austrian State Prize for Fine Arts and in 2017 she represented Austria at the 57th Venice Biennale (together with Erwin Wurm). As part of the symposium in March 2023, Brigitte Kowanz was posthumously awarded the Ring of Honour of the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
The interactions between light, space and time play the main role in Brigitte Kowanz's work. Artificial light becomes a means of expression in its own right and is linked to the medium of language and numbers. This is also the case in the title of the present work "Light is what we see (Addition)". The "light panel" of mysterious rows of numbers that add up to a sequence of letters not only captures light in its visual appearance, but also translates it into numbers and letters. The carefully and neatly arranged rows of additions and the summation line give the fleeting theme of light a fixed geometric form. Ultimately, however, "Light is what we see" also retains a certain mystery. After all, the system of light signs is only revealed to the viewer as a form and not as a real calculation.
Copyright the artist. Photo UniCredit Group
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