With “MELLITIUS.!”, the galerie gugging invites you to an extraordinary exhibition of works by the world-famous Gugging Artist August Walla, which is entirely dedicated to his passion for food. Exciting rarities of the great master of colours await you. It will be a feast for the eyes!
The title of the exhibition “MELLITIUS.!” – “in Latin, sacred foreign language”, where mellitius means “honey-sweet”, is borrowed from the title of a work by August Walla. The famous Gugging Artist loved food and enjoyed it to the fullest, whenever and wherever he could. Walla is one of the most internationally renowned Art Brut artists and his works should not be missing in any important exhibition of this art movement.
“Food Art” is nothing new in itself. Daniel Spoerri, who shaped “Eat Art” in the 1960s, already curated the exhibition “curated by daniel spoerri” in our premises in 2021 and had also chosen works by August Walla for it. Inspired by this, gallery director & curator Nina Katschnig, together with exhibition organiser Irina Katnik, started putting together an exhibition of works around the theme of food. While browsing the treasures of our warehouse, it quickly became clear that so many wonderful August Walla food works really cry out for their own exhibition. And this is exactly what happened …
August Walla, born on June 22, 1936, in Klosterneuburg, is considered one of the most versatile Art Brut artists of the present, and the theme of food can be found throughout his work. The Gugging Artist has worked on canvases as well as on paper, photographed, created objects and always included his entire environment. His versatile oeuvre is now impressively presented in the exhibition “MELLITIUS.!” at the galerie gugging. We are especially pleased to present Walla’s tablecloths, two “accidentally” created works, for the first time. These two objects were created by August Walla on the table in his room in the House of Artists over the years. For the artist, everything he used in life – such as oil cans, books or milk cartons – was also working material, which he designed over time, or made containers or objects from. Another highlight is a painted canister that he always filled with spices. The exhibition also presents drawings and typefaces with culinary content as well as various price calculations for dishes, all works from Walla’s last creative period after the death of his beloved mother, in which almost everything revolved around the theme of food.
His works are complemented by other food-inspired works by his Gugging Artist colleagues Alois Fischbach, Helmut Hladisch, Heinrich Reisenbauer, Günther Schützenhöfer and Oswald Tschirtner.
