Genius Loci, 2017

In the work of the Austrian artist Brigitte Kowanz (1957–2022), light is the central element, which she used both as a means of creating space and as a carrier of information. Over decades of continuous work, the artist developed a veritable vocabulary of light, with which she staged the interweaving of material and immaterial space. In this work, the Latin term Genius Loci (meaning “spirit of the place”) forms the basis for the interplay between language, space and light. The title of the work in neon lettering is framed in a mirrored glass box. The element of the mirror provides a further level of reflection, and the interplay creates a vortex of boundlessly flowing light that draws the viewer in, dissolving the boundary between work and viewer.
Kowanz’s oeuvre also includes over 50 different installations for public spaces. For the MQ Libelle on the roof of the Leopold Museum, she created an artistic intervention in the form of the three iconic light rings.

LVD, 2025