Hannes Priesch
Braune Fahne (Brown Flag, 1979) / Fahnenspruch (Flag Motto, 2015) / Opferseelen (Sacrificial Souls, 2015) / Rot-Weiß-Rot (Red-White-Red, 2015)
Photo: David Kranzelbinder, courtesy of the artist and Galerie artepari
The title of an early work by Hannes Priesch, Braune Fahne, might be read as referring to the brown uniforms of storm troopers. Its format, too, might remind one of the vertical banners with which the Nazis decorated all the Third Reich’s cities, including Graz. However, Priesch’s banner is one of dirt, dust, and mud—creating associations with the filth of destruction.
In later works, Priesch would turn away from abstraction, taking a more conceptual approach. He would return to the flag format in the early 2000s, when Austria was experiencing a time of political turmoil due to the first major revival of the ultraright. Priesch’s flags present different versions of the Austrian flag. They mix its colors with contemporary references and materials, evoking the abject trashiness of nationalism and xenophobia in a world of cheap consumer products and growing garbage dumps.
Hannes Priesch (1954, Eggersdorf bei Graz, Austria) is an artist working with painting, object, and installation. His work has recently been shown in group exhibitions at Graz Museum; KULTUMuseum, Graz; Kunsthaus Graz; and Museum Gegenwartskunst, Stift Admont (all 2022) and in solo exhibitions at Museum Liaunig, Neuhaus (2023); Kunsthaus Mürz, Mürzzuschlag (with Gerhard Kaiser, 2023); Public Domain at Porgy & Bess, Vienna (2022); Galerie Artiparti, Graz (2020); Steiermärkische Landesbibliothek / Neue Galerie Graz (2018); and Universitätsbibliothek Wien (2018). Priesch lives in Semriach.
Braune Fahne (1979)
Mixed media on canvas, 195 × 48 cm
Neue Galerie Graz / Universalmuseum Joanneum
Fahnenspruch (2015)
Wood, wire, fabrics, wool, embroidery, watercolors, ca. 260 × 50 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galerie artepari
Opferseelen (2015)
Wood, wire, fabrics, wool, embroidery, watercolors, ca. 260 × 50 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galerie artepari
Rot-Weiß-Rot (2015)
Wood, wire, fabrics, wool, embroidery, watercolors, ca. 260 × 50 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galerie artepari