Martha Jungwirth
06.07.2024 - 09.22.2024
Martha Jungwirth (b. 1940, Vienna) has likened her artworks to a diary that traces her physical engagement with the creative process. She sees her drawings and paintings as dynamic extensions of herself, where intelligent structures of lines and blotches emerge, propelled by her emotions and movements. Jungwirth’s art is a study in fluidity, transparency, and openness, shunning the pursuit of the noble to delve into the raw, the uncensored, and the unembellished.
Jungwirth's work exists in a conversational realm between memory and representation, translating personal experiences into visual forms that are deeply individual perceptions. Through colors that carry emotional weight and gestural forms that only hint at their origins, Jungwirth’s paintings defy easy categorization, oscillating between abstraction and subtle representational elements. This artistic spectrum ranges from paintings filled with dense strokes to those marked by spare brushwork, exploring the tension between abstraction and the physical world.
Jungwirth’s early work demonstrates a distinct approach to the visceral and the subjective characterized by a fusion of Abstract Expressionism and a raw, emotive quality, setting the stage for the development of her unique aesthetic. Her oeuvre is marked by a continuous evolution, engaging with a variety of themes, from introspective self-portraits to landscapes to responses to contemporary global events, such as the 2019–20 Australian bushfires.
This exhibition presents 70 works, starting with Jungwirth’s earliest drawings that explore the boundary between representation and abstraction, and concludes with her recent series inspired by Francisco de Goya and Édouard Manet. Organized thematically, it features drawings, watercolors, oil paintings, and artist books on a variety of substrates, including handmade paper, accounting books, cardboard, and more. These unconventional materials introduce unpredictability into Jungwirth’s creative process, enhancing the spontaneity and dynamism of her work. Her dedication to thematic exploration and visual innovation highlights her distinctive stance in the art world, as she persistently challenges and extends the limits of her artistic expression.
Galleries: 205, 206, 207 and 209
Curator: Lekha Hileman Waitoller
Martha Jungwirth
Maja I, from the series Francisco de Goya, Maja
(Maja I, aus der Serie Francisco de Goya, Maja), 2021
Oil on paper over canvas
238.8 x 299.6 cm x 2.7 cm
Brauner Collection
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo: Sebastiano Pellion
Virtual Tour
The Exhibition
Martha Jungwirth
Here and Now and Never Again
(Hier und jetzt und nie wieder), 1982-83
Watercolor on paper
211.6 x 221 cm
Don des Amis du Centre Pompidou, Cercle
International, 2021. Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Musée national d'art moderne / Centre de création industrielle
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo : © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Audrey Laurans
Martha Jungwirth
Untitled, from the series Indesit
(Ohne Titel, aus der Serie Indesit), 1976
Pencil on paper
163 x 154 cm
Wien Museum
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo Wien Museum, TimTom
Martha Jungwirth
Empty Quarter, from the Series Yemen
(Leeres Viertel, aus der Serie Jemen), 2005
Watercolor on handmade paper
104 x 140 cm
Private collection
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo: Courtesy Galerie Krinzinger and Martha Jungwirth
Martha Jungwirth
Untitled, from the series Nausícaa
(Ohne Titel, aus der Serie Nausikaa), 2001
Watercolor on handmade paper
140 x 105 cm
Museum Liaunig
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Martha Jungwirth
Untitled, from the Series Australidelphia
(Ohne Titel, aus der Serie Australidelphia), 2020
Oil on paper over canvas
241.5 x 330.9 cm
Private collection, London
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo Charles Duprat
Martha Jungwirth
Bukephalos, 2021
Oil on paper over canvas
248 x 264 cm
Nicoletta Fiorucci Collection
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo Lisa Rastl
Martha Jungwirth
Untitled, from the series Édouard Manet, The Asparagus
(Ohne Titel, aus der Serie Édouard Manet, Der Spargel), 2023
Oil on paper over canvas
241,5 x 359 cm
Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, London · Paris · Salzburg · Seoul
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo Ulrich Ghezzi
Martha Jungwirth
Maja I, from the series Francisco de Goya, Maja
(Maja I, aus der Serie Francisco de Goya, Maja), 2021
Oil on paper over canvas
238.8 x 299.6 cm x 2.7 cm
Brauner Collection
© Martha Jungwirth, Bilbao, 2024
Photo: Sebastiano Pellion
Did you
know that...?
Martha Jungwirth, gesture and color
As part of the Didaktika initiative, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao designs educational spaces, online content, and special activities to complement its exhibitions, offering tools and resources to enhance the public’s appreciation of the works on display...
After the great masters
This section is dedicated to Jungwirth’s most recent works, inspired by the old masters: Frans Hals, Francisco de Goya, Édouard Manet… The analysis of the Viennese artist’s...
