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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 25.04 | Guided tour through “The Journey of the Paintings” 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 25.04 | We open the box: Negotiating our own contemporary history The exhibition “The Journey of the Paintings” poses challenging questions that still concern our society today: What does it mean for us today that Linz should have been a “Capital of Culture” back then? How does anti-Semitism continue to have an impact today? This format enables a discussion of contemporary history and National Socialism by means of moderated discussion rounds. Invited guests from the context of contemporary historical research and questions from the exhibition open the discussions. | 7:00 pm–8:30 pm |
| Fri 26.04 | Press tour: “The life of things” in the old market judge’s house Lauffen/Bad Ischl The exhibition uses contemporary positions to shed light on the fate of artworks and artefacts between looting, abduction and restitution. The curators will provide insights into the show during the press tour. An exhibition of the Lentos Art Museum Linz on the occasion of the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024. | 4:00 pm–5:00 pm |
| Fri 26.04 | Opening: “The Life of Things” at Altes Marktrichterhaus Lauffen/Bad Ischl The exhibition uses contemporary positions to shed light on the fate of artworks and artefacts between looting, abduction and restitution. The opening will take place in the Altes Marktrichterhaus in Lauffen/Bad Ischl. An exhibition of the Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz on the occasion of the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024 with support of the Cultural Heritage Project by Peter Löw. | 5:00 pm–7:00 pm |
| Sat 27.04 | 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 27.04 | 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 28.04 | Guided tour through “The Journey of the Paintings” 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 30.04 | Guided tour through “The Collection” + “The Journey of the Paintings” 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 02.05 | Guided tour through “The Journey of the Paintings” 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 04.05 | 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 |
Video
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