KISS • Kunsthalle Wien • Museumsquartier, Karlsplatz & public space in Vienna • 2021-2022
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Artists • Eva Egermann • Thomas Geiger • Elke Silvia Krystufek • Rade Petrasevic • Margot Pilz • Johanna Tinzl
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Curators • Laura Amann • Anne Faucheret • Aziza Harmel • WHW
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What is this “investigation known as kissing”? Which secrets are we prying off each other? What happens when fluids, bugs, and viruses mix in an act of love? And how can we conquer the cosmos when kissing is no longer allowed or safe? Küssen verboten? Bussi baba? And if we are already at it: Who is allowed to kiss? And where? And when? KISS presents a series of artistic contributions and works, commissioned by Kunsthalle Wien. The artists Eva Egermann, Thomas Geiger, Elke Silvia Krystufek, Rade Petrasevic, Margot Pilz, Johanna Tinzl … are invited to engage in an act of social and cultural intimacy in the city and to realize projects that reduce the distance between contemporary art practices and their audiences. 

The first chapter of KISS took place throughout the summer and autumn of 2020 with contributions by Eva Egermann, Thomas Geiger, Margot Pilz, and Johanna Tinzl. In spring 2021, a second chapter started comprising an intervention in public s pace by Rade Petrasevic and a new issue of Crip Magazine produced by Eva Egermann. The loos e temporality of the whole project follows the rhythm of the works and humans involved and is attuned to a pandemic that has very much subverted our sense and use of time.
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The works unfolds from the conditions and consequences of physical distancing, when all the power and potential embodied in the kiss seems to dissipate in awkwardness and insecurity and also the meaning of public space itself has been undergoing a complex transformation. Therefore these projects are presented in different urban situations and varying formats. By adding existing sites, artifacts, and narratives of cultural significance to its parcours, KISS expands on the traditional exhibition narrative, encouraging viewers to set off on an exploration of art, culture, and history in public space.
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Link to the project's website
https://kunsthallewien.at/en/exhibition/kiss
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Link to the project's booklet
https://kunsthallewien.at/assets/exhibitions/2020-07-kiss/KISS_Booklet_EN.pdf
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Image credits from left to right, from top to bottom
1 • Johanna Tinzl, Zurück nach Wien – Körperadaptierung. Zwei Jahre lang, zweimal die Woche, warten, Horeischygasse, 1130 Wien; Meine Lehrerin war keine Nazi, Friesgasse, 1150, Wien; Ich habe heute keine Angst mehr, Schenkenstraße 1010, Wien. 2016/2020. Courtesy of the artist.
2 • Johanna Tinzl, Wenn Du da bleiben willst, musst Du deutsch sprechen. Roter Berg, 1130 Wien. 2016/2020. Courtesy of the artist.
3 • Margot Pilz, Hausfrauendenkmal, 1979-2021. Courtesy of the artist and GALERIE 3.
4 • Margot Pilz, Amorator, 1985/2020. Courtesy of the artist and Wien Museum. Photo : Maximilian Pramatarov.
5 • Thomas Geiger, Festival of Minimal Actions: Jiří Kovanda, Kissing Through Glass, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.
6 • Thomas Geiger, Festival of Minimal Action: Satoshi Hashimoto, Please Exchange Your Shoes With Me, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.
7 • Eva Egermann with a text by Ianina Ilitcheva, Halt dich fern aber halt mich, Mariahilferstraße 1b, 2020. Ianina Ilitcheva's text was published by hochroth Munich 2018. Courtesy of the artist.
8 • Eva Egermann with a text by Ianina Ilitcheva, Halt dich fern aber halt mich, Central Garden, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.
9 & 10 • Rade Petrasevic, What If I Never Find Out Who's a Good Boy, 2021. Courtesy of the artist.
11 • Eva Egermann, Crip Magazine Issue 4. The Vienna Edition, 2021. Cover. Drawing: Katta Spiel, Handing Out Real Virtuality, 2020. Design: Lana Grahek.
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Photos if not otherwise mentioned : Kunsthalle Wien