Portfolio-Review24. November 2014

Emanuel Layr Galerist, Wien

Portfolio-Review Emanuel Layr

I studied art history in Vienna starting in 1999. Then I ran an alternative space together with friends from university for 3 years. I did some internships at galleries and at an auction house, but I soon realized that I didn’t want to wait 20 years to curate and organize my first project on my own.

The model of the alternative space didn’t give me enough perspective in developing a programme. I had the feeling that I needed to find a model where I could work for a longer period, and more closely with artists. The gallery model was more interesting to me. In 2002-03 I entered a collaboration with Thomas Wüstenhagen, who is now working for Art Basel.
We started a project space close to the Museums Quartier. In 2005-06 we found a new location in Vienna city center and Gallery Layr Wuestenhagen was established.
In March 2011 the gallery was reestablished under my directorship. Since then, the gallery programme has expanded with new artists joining the gallery like Franz Amann, Andy Boot, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Plamen Dejanoff, Benjamin Hirte, Lisa Holzer and Stano Filko and I have intensified working with existing artists like Julien Bismuth, Mahony, Marius Engh and Nick Oberthaler, organizing exhibitions in and outside the gallery, publication projects, etc.... The gallery also maintained an ambitious programme of solo exhibitions, punctuated by frequent group shows like "... forsakes its existence and gives its shape over to recollection" curated by Severin Dünser and Christian Kobald, "No day without a temperament" curated by Benjamin Hirte, "Very abstract and really figurative" curated by Emanuel Layr and other curatorial projects such as curated by_vienna 2012, "The Body Argument" curated by Florence Derieux, curated by_vienna 2013 curated by Bart van der Heide and 2014 by Egija Inzule.

Info

Rustenschacherallee 2-4, 1020 Wien