Heidi Horten’s extraordinary art collection: a new museum is born in Vienna
A new museum in Vienna.
L’Heidi Horten collection is the private museum in Vienna, owned by the Austrian billionaire Heidi Goess-Horten81 years old.
It was inaugurated on Friday 3 June, after four years of “unofficial” exhibition.
The museum, the new museum building in Vienna for twenty years now, is located near the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatoper).
The former Chancellery building, built in 1914, was transformed into a state and renamed “Goess-Horten Palace”, named after its new owner.
Only the facade of the building was left intact for the Heidi Horten Collection, The interior has been completely restored and modernized, with a staircase running through three exhibition floors.
The building is a work of art in itself. The desire is to offer visitors the opportunity to experience the home (and what a home!) To its full potential.
“Among the 200 most important collections in the world”
Agnes Hussleinis the Director of the Heidi Horten Collection:
“The collection is among the 200 most important art collections in the world. It contains relics of the history of art and masterpieces, with particular attention, for example, to poor art, pop art, expressionism, and with a quantity of works by young artists, interesting and contemporary “.
The origins of the collection
Heidi Goës-Horten started the collection with her husband Helmut, who built had an empire of department stores during the periodos.
After a series of criticisms, the report of a historian – commissioned by the widow two years ago – is listed on the museum’s homepage. The conclusion: Helmut ** Horten had profited from the “Aryanizations”, but had neither promoted nor incited them.
**
** A dinosaur … musical
**
In the entrance area of the Heidi Horten Museum, the sculpture of a dinosaur by the Austrian artist shines Costantino Luserusing brass instruments that are far too long but still playable …..
“Open”: 50 works, to begin with
The inaugural exhibition, entitled “OPEN” – scheduled until 2 October – he wants above all to let architecture take effect and presents only fifty pieces of the collection, which – in total – has over seven hundred objects. Including: various expressions of works of historical and artistic importance, including German artists, Gustav Klimt, icons of classical modernism, Andy Warhol’s Pop Art and contemporary works.
Masterpieces distributed by Heidi Horten among her residences.
In the “OPEN” exhibition there are works by John M. Armleder, Stephan Balkenhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alighiero Boetti, Philippe Bradshaw, Barry Flanagan, Dan Flavin, Lucio Fontana, Lena Henke, Damien Hirst, Joseph Kosuth, Brigitte Kowanz, Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, Constantin Luser, Ulrike Müller, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Nick Oberthaler, Stefan Oláh, Marc Quinn, Robert Rauschenberg, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Margherita Spiluttini, Philipp Timischl, Not Vital, Franz West and Erwin Wurm.