Herbert & Joella Bayer
Joining Forces in the Service of Art
Exhibition view, Herbert & Joella Bayer, 2022 
Exhibition view, Herbert & Joella Bayer, 2022 
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sun 20.09 | 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 22.09 | 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”) | 4:00 pm–5:00 pm |
| Thu 24.09 | 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 26.09 | 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 26.09 | Los Lentoninios Every second Saturday each month (in the holidays: Tuesday) our youngest visitors are cordially invited to the Donauatelier to give their fantasy and creativity free rein. | 3:00 pm–4:30 pm |
| Sun 27.09 | Monument Day: Tactile Guided Tour On Heritage Day, the Lentos Art Museum in Linz invites you to a dialogue-based discussion on art. The focus will be on the museum’s collection and architecture. The event is aimed at both blind and visually impaired people as well as sighted visitors who would like to experience the museum in a different way. Sculptures, a tactile model of the museum, and objects from the restoration workshop will be described, touched, and experienced through all the senses in a shared exchange. Afterward, everyone is invited to get creative and engage in artistic activities themselves. | 11:00 am–12:30 pm |
| Sun 27.09 | 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 29.09 | Baby Tour: Katrin Plavcak. Painting Reality in Surreal Times A relaxed tour of the exhibition, tailored entirely to the needs of visitors with babies. Cost: museum admission only | 10:30 am–11:30 am |
| Tue 29.09 | 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 01.10 | Press Conference: erika roessing (1903 – 1977) The exhibition shows erika roessing’s still lifes in dialogue with major works created by her husband, and highlights the artistic symbiosis of the couple. | 11:00 am–12:00 pm |
Video
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