TRANSITION

The Austrian artist Manfred Grübl is known for his subversive interventions. He often ventures into legal gray areas to challenge the established rules of the art industry.
At the 58th Venice Biennale Grübl installed a temporary bridge made of gondolas and a strake, giving people irregular access to the exhibition area and connecting the Giardini with the city. The artist encouraged visitors to join him on this wobbly ground—tongue in cheek, of course, as the challenging passage over the dark water could be seen as a metaphor for the in-between, where all those live and work who haven’t hit the big time (yet).
Transition deals with the art world’s rules of access and the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion: How are decisions made about who gets to exhibit under which circumstances and who participates in the system according to which rules?

Manfred Grübl, born 1965 in Tamsweg, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, first in Peter Kogler’s New Media class and later in Bruno Gironcoli’s Sculpture class. He also attended the Slade School of Fine Art at University College London. His studio residencies have ranged from Paliano near Rome, Boston, Mexico City, London, Helsinki, and Istanbul to Paris.
In 2018, Grübl was awarded the Grand Art Prize of the Province of Salzburg.
He lives and works in Vienna.