Queer Encounters – Vienna Trans L.A. Opens at CalArts This Week

Marianne Vlaschits VENUS CITY

'Queer Encounters - Vienna Trans L.A.' opens this week at CalArts. | Image: Marianne Vlaschits: 'Venus City' (2016), digital print on silk,10' x 100'

Jessyca R Hauser RELAX GIRLCAM RIFLE

'Queer Encounters - Vienna Trans L.A.' opens this week at CalArts. | Image: Jessyca R. Hauser, videostill from relax|girlcam #1 rifle

Zoe Dewitt CIS- TRANS (Portrait of myself as Countess Cis Zoltowska)

'Queer Encounters - Vienna Trans L.A.' opens this week at CalArts. | Image: Zoe Dewitt: 'CIS/TRANS – Portrait of myself as Countess Cis Zoltowska' (photography, 2017, detail)

From Sept. 25 through 29, in collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, CalArts School of Art presents Queer Encounters – Vienna Trans L.A.

As part of an exchange project between the two schools coordinated by artist and CalArts faculty Kaucyila Brooke, the exhibition presents the queer-feminist, anti-discriminatory and decolonial work of 25 international artists from the Academy, many of them students in filmmaker and painter Ashley Hans Scheirl’s contextual painting class which focuses on identity, gender and the “trans” aspect in art.

With a special emphasis on interdisciplinary methods and collaborations between artists, the exhibition presents works in a variety of media exploring themes including queer utopia, LGBT activism, decolonization of the body, non-binary club culture, intergalactic matriarchy and more.

A portion of the exhibition will be dedicated to Countess Cis Zoltowska, an Austrian costume jewelry designer who made Los Angeles her home from the 1960s through early 2000s.

Curated by Vienna-based multimedia artist and philosopher Zoe Dewitt, Queer Encounters was made possible by the Austrian Feral Chancellery and the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, in collaboration with the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Participating international artists and artist collectives are: Florian Aschka (DE), Blisssquad (A) , Pedra Costa (BRA), Zoe Dewitt (A), Andi Dvorak (A), Mirabella Dziruni (A), Veronika Eberhart (A), Julia Fuchs (A), Julia Goodman (US), Moritz Gottschalk (A), Jessyca R. Hauser (A), Klitclique (A), Larissa Kopp (DE), Roberta Lima (BRA), Rini Mitra (BGD), Alfred Morina (A), Hyeji Nam (KOR), Danielle Pamp (SWE), Michal Rutz (PL), Berivan Sayici (A), Sir Meisi & Kozek Hörlonski (A, DE), Marianne Vlaschits (A) and Julia Zastava (RUS).

A reception to celebration the show’s opening will be held on Thursday evening, Sept. 28 in the D300 and D301 galleries on the CalArts campus from 7-10 pm.

—Katie Dunham