During the past sixteen years, Viennese-born artist Elke Krystufek (*1970) has created a complex, often provocative, internationally acknowledged oeuvre combining painting with collages, sculptures, videos, photographs, and performances. In her exploration of social norms and patterns of behavior influenced by the family, the artist discerns the multi-layered phenomenon of identity in its interaction with the perception of the self and the other.
This publication accompanies an exhibition at the MAK in Vienna. Using different forms of artistic expression, it opens up new perspectives of the survival as well as the temporality of art, collecting strategies, and the role of women in art, all closely interwoven with themes such as religion, femininity, and myth. Inspired by the MAK collection, Krystufek also developed new objects, furniture, paintings, and photographs, which are presented for the first time in this volume.
 

Exhibition schedule: MAK, Vienna, December 6, 2006–April 1, 2007