Helmut Swoboda :
Ostarrîchi-Stätte

Together with the architect Ernst Beneder, Helmut Swoboda developed an artistic concept that intervenes in the space of the very formal ceremony hall. On the front side and behind the rows of seats two large-format, square paintings, each measuring 2.8 x 2.8 meters, have been mounted. The painting jut out from the wall and thus have a strong radiating effect. The pairs of paintings close off the room much more than the abstract wall. Their pictorial impact marks an end of the spatial field of art, while the virtual architectural space is extended by the slit in the glass of the upper lights. The fact that the paintings have been arranged in groups of two avoids sacral connotations and accentuates the profane, solemn character of the room. The pair of paintings in the back of the room is more restrained. The hall is thus perfectly delineated between front and back. The paintings can be shifted on "moveable easels" (Beneder), when the room is supposed to appear smaller. As a third element, a row of a dozen square paintings (90 x 90 cm each) were mounted the length of the room. Its generative principle is also based on a dissolution of the elements that create a tension transcending their common spatial "emanation". The gravitational field of the paintings is located in the front area.
(Walter Zschokke)