From September 20th to October 8th Arijana Lekić-Fridrih , one of the most prominent Croatian multimedia artists, will present the most comprehensive overview of her artistic work to date, including seven new works, at the Villa Mautner-Jäger in Vienna . The exhibition is produced by the Domino association , Croatian curator Zvonimir Dobrović and Austrian curator Ema Kaiser .
With her recent work, Arijana Lekić-Fridrih has become a well-known name in Croatia and beyond when it comes to art that encourages action, that reflects on the present in an uncompromising way, which is not at all welcome in today’s world saturated with opportunistic politics. However, where art would be if it were to wait for ideal conditions or an invitation, it would be lagging behind those who allow it to exist. Only through her tireless engagement over the last three years through a simple and symbolic gesture and the image she projects through the media – standing peacefully in squares across Croatia, have we collectively learned the power of art, both as an individual and as an individual in society.
Therefore, the location of the exhibition in the Mautner-Jäger Villa also has a strong symbolism. Namely, the villa was built in the late 19th century by the Mautner vonMarkhof family for Hertha, a daughter of feminist beliefs, and already at the beginning of the 20th century it became a salon of culture and intellectual exchange. Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Alma Mahler worked in its spaces, while later history brought persecution, war and the silence of authoritarianism. It is precisely this space, with its layered heritage of visibility and erasure, brilliance and interruption, that becomes the ideal interlocutor for Arijana’s work, which equally tirelessly questions power, memory and resistance.
In her work, Arijana insists, from her earliest projects, on the visibility of those who are repressed or erased: women negotiating patriarchal codes, queer communities erased from public discourse, individuals whose lives are shaped by insecurity and systemic neglect. In her works, the body becomes both subject and source – it bears the inscriptions of society, but also actively resists it. Whether through long-term performances, carefully selected objects, or spaces of collective reflection, Arijana invites the audience to confront uncomfortable truths about power, violence, silence, and complicity.
The exhibition is an opportunity for the Austrian audience to get acquainted with the wide range of Ariana’s artistic momentum, and the exhibition will also present a whole series of new works that dissect the moments we witness.
