Portal
Alfredo Barsuglia
In everyday life, we usually cannot simply switch sides. At Klanglicht im Park – The Sound of Light, however, it only takes a few steps: with his installation Portal, Graz-born artist Alfredo Barsuglia invites visitors to make both a physical and a mental transition. Colourful light bulbs show them the way.
“For a moment, you enter another reality – or perhaps the realm of your own wishes and longings, which we have projected onto the rainbow since time immemorial.”
Despite the installation’s scale and vibrant colours, visible from far away through the night, Barsuglia’s rainbow conveys a sense of intimacy. This feeling is reinforced by the accompanying fairy tale: directly beneath the rainbow, the love story of two beings is told, who overcome their different realities and find their way to one another. In doing so, the work also explores openness, tolerance and diversity.
Biography
Alfredo Barsuglia, born in Graz in 1980, lives and works in Vienna.
Barsuglia has received numerous awards and grants, including the Monsignore Otto Mauer Prize (2019), the Austrian State Scholarship for Fine Arts (2017), the City of Vienna Art Promotion Award (2015), the Theodor Körner Prize (2013), the City of Graz Art Promotion Award (2007), and the MAK Schindler Scholarship in Los Angeles (2006).
His works have been shown at, among others, Lentos in Linz (2023); the Dominican Church, Museum Krems and donaufestival (2023); the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich (2022); Kunsthaus Graz (2021); the Museum of Estonian Architecture in Tallinn, Estonia (2021); Kunsthalle Esch, Luxembourg (2020); Kunstforum Wien (2019); MMKK Museum of Modern Art Carinthia in Klagenfurt (2018); MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna (2015); MACRO – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma / Testaccio (2014); the ARTPLAY Design and Architecture Center in Moscow (2011); and mumok – Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna (2010).
In numerous public-space projects, such as Social Pool (2014) in the Mojave Desert, Mariainsel (2018) in Fürstenfeld, Abriss (2021) in Graz, and Back to Now, a project for the European Capital of Culture 2024 in the Salzkammergut region, he explores social values as well as the boundaries and transitions between public and private space.
Credits
Installation:
Alfredo Barsuglia
Sound Design and Sound Engineer:
Stefan Voglsinger
Voices:
Luisa Schwab and Željko Marović, members of the Schauspielhaus Graz ensemble