Touch Nature

The multimedia exhibition ​”Touch Nature” showcases international artists and their takes on the devastating political, economic, ecological and humanitarian consequences of the Anthropocene. It becomes quite clear in the process that, in addition to documenting grievances and formulating strategies of resistance, these artists also provide blueprints for utopias. 

The economic exploitation of huge tracts of land, rising levels of soil sealing and the global effects of consumerism are addressed alongside the capitalist manipulation of waste. A series of cooperative ventures, some of which are interdisciplinary in character, results in art projects that deal with the global food situation, the spread of epidemics and the consequences of colonialism, aiming at a change of perspective. The exhibition develops encouraging visions of a new relationship between humanity and nature and of an approach to our environment marked by mindfulness and respect.

The exhibition is based on a series of exhibitions of the same name that were shown in twelve of Austria’s Forums of Culture in Europe and the United States between 2021 and 2024. This allowed Austrian artists to enter into a creative dialogue with artists of the host countries. The show at the Lentos presents a summary of this series of exhibitions and supplements it with international works of art. Its roughly 120 artists present a multinational overview of the current engagement with the climate crisis and the destruction of our environment. 

The exhibition seeks to conjure up the spirit of that pioneer of ecological reasoning, Alexander von Humboldt, the founding father of climatology, ecology and oceanography, who in 1810 wrote to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: ​“Nature must be felt”.

Curator and exhibition concept: Sabine Fellner
Exhibition design: wienerhalle

Artists

Works by, among others Uli Aigner, Iris Andraschek, Julius von Bismarck, Vanja Bucan, Floriama Candea, Codruta Cernea, Adriana Chiruta, Sevda Chkoutova, Mark Dion, Veronika Dirnhofer, Ines Doujak, Anne Duk Hee Jordan, Titanilla Eisenhart, Michael Endlicher, Thomas Feuerstein, Jitka Hanzlová, Peter Hauenschild, Edgar Honetschläger, Barbara Anna Husar, Tobias Izsó, Kitty Kino, Alexandra Kontriner, Hans Kupelwieser, Antonio Kutleša, Christiane Löhr, Linda Luse, Claudia Märzendorfer, Ferdinand Melichar, Karina Mendreczky, Claire Morgan, Alois Mosbacher, Yvonne Oswald, Maren Jeleff/​Klaus Pichler, Monika Pichler, Margot Pilz, PRINZpod, Julia Reichmayr, Oliver Ressler, Hubert Roithner, Gregor Sailer, Elisabeth von Samsonow, Davor Sanvincenti, Judith Sauper, Hans Schabus, Gabriele Schöne, Martin Schrampf, Marielis Seyler, Rebecca Smith, Paul Spendier, Mircea Suciu, Hana Usui, Manfred Wakolbinger, Judith Wagner, Betsy Weis, Nives Widauer, Laurent Ziegler/​Georg Blaschke

Supported by

An exhibition with the support of BMEIA (Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs).