Herbert & Joella Bayer
Joining Forces in the Service of Art
In this show, the Lentos puts its Bayer Archive centre stage. This archive is one of the most comprehensive collections in Europe featuring works by this truly universal, Upper Austrian born artist.
For the first time the exhibition also showcases his collaboration with his wife, Joella. In her capacities as manager and donor, she made a significant contribution to Herbert’s success.
Herbert Bayer (1900 – 1985) is considered the epitome of the modern universal type of artist. His career took him from Linz to Germany and the United States, where he continued his Bauhaus inspired work for international corporations, museums, and the tourism industry. As an architect, designer, painter, sculptor and landscape designer, he shaped the townscape of such places as Aspen, where the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies opened this year.
Joella (1907 – 2004), daughter of the famous writer, artist and feminist Mina Loy (1882 – 1966), not only took charge of her husband’s estate after his death, but she was also his muse and artistic mentor during his lifetime and a source of inspiration for Dalí and Man Ray. She had a remarkable talent for bringing together different personalities from the worlds of business and art.
The exhibition puts a unique focus on Bayer’s success as a commercial designer in Germany and the United States. Photos from private US Archives and by Bayer’s first wife, Irene Bayer Hecht (1898 – 1991), and Ise Gropius (1897 – 1983) of Bauhaus as well as Mina Loy supplement the Lentos’s holdings. These are comprised of more than 200 works generously donated to the Lentos between 1986 and 2004 by Herbert and Joella Bayer. Some are more recent acquisitions.
Curator: Elisabeth Nowak-Thaller
Exhibition Design: Nicole Six & Paul Petritsch
Interactive Exhibition part
Let’s redesign the exhibition space! Inspired by Bauhaus ideas, a large part of the show invites visitors to use and design it themselves. Elements of this interactive area of the exhibition can be used, moved and changed. In this way, the exhibition space is created anew again and again.
| Date | Title | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 05.11 | Public guided tour through „Katrin Plavčak“ Duration: 60 minutes, max. 25 people, guided tour ticket: €4 (plus admission) No registration required (“first-come, first-served”). German only | 6:00 pm–7:00 pm |
| Sat 07.11 | Lentos Atelier Children and young people between the ages of 6 and 12 have the opportunity to discover works of art, work creatively and try out different techniques in the Lentos studio. | 10:00 am–12:00 pm |
| Sat 07.11 | Art Studio for Adults to Katrin Plavčak Drawing on Katrin Plavčak’s artistic approach, in this painting workshop we will explore the interplay of various references and the artistic freedom to avoid taking things too seriously. How can we develop multi-layered visual worlds using the direct visual languages and forms found in comics, advertising, and popular culture? Appointments available only as a package on November 7 and 8. German only. | 10:00 am–2:00 pm |
| Sat 07.11 | A Studio for All Age Groups (Fully booked) Every first Saturday each month we throw open the door of our “Atelier für Alle”, our studio for sessions with all age groups from 0 – 99. | 2:00 pm–4:00 pm |
| Sun 08.11 | Art Studio for Adults to Katrin Plavčak Drawing on Katrin Plavčak’s artistic approach, in this painting workshop we will explore the interplay of various references and the artistic freedom to avoid taking things too seriously. How can we develop multi-layered visual worlds using the direct visual languages and forms found in comics, advertising, and popular culture? Appointments available only as a package on November 7 and 8. German only. | 10:00 am–3:00 pm |
| Sun 08.11 | Public guided tour through „Katrin Plavčak“ Duration: 60 minutes, max. 25 people, guided tour ticket: €4 (plus admission) No registration required (“first-come, first-served”). German only | 4:00 pm–5:00 pm |
| Tue 10.11 | Public guided tour through “Katrin Plavčak” and “The Collection” Duration: 60 minutes, max. 25 people, guided tour ticket: €4 (plus admission) No registration required (“first-come, first-served”). German only+ | 4:00 pm–5:00 pm |
| Thu 12.11 | Public guided tour through „Katrin Plavčak“ Duration: 60 minutes, max. 25 people, guided tour ticket: €4 (plus admission) No registration required (“first-come, first-served”). German only | 6:00 pm–7:00 pm |
| Thu 12.11 | Concert at the Stadtwerkstatt: Kinky Muppet Katrin Plavčak (vocals, guitar), Nicholas Hoffman (vocals, baritone, bass, keyboards), and Oliver Stotz (samples & drums) will take the stage as Kinky Muppet at the Stadtwerkstatt in Linz. Opening act: Sersha. Tickets: €14, available at the Stadtwerkstatt box office. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., concert starts at 8:00 p.m. The concert ticket grants free admission to the exhibition. | 7:30 pm–9:30 pm |
| Fri 13.11 | Nude Drawing at the Lentos (Fully booked) Lentos takes advantage of the art museum’s inspiring surroundings to offer a course in the classical discipline of “nude drawing” with models — for anyone who wants to give it a try, refine their techniques, or take their first steps as a “newcomer.” The focus is on practical drawing from a model under the guidance of artist Klaus Scheuringer. | 4:00 pm–6:00 pm |
Video
*Please understand that we offer our video production in German language only.




