Die Sprache der Göttinnen

From 13 April to 30 November 2025, MAMUZ Schloss Asparn/Zaya is devoting itself to prehistoric representations of the female and their lasting influence on contemporary artistic works. In the form of figurines, sketches or photographs, the exhibition curated by Elisabeth von Samsonow and Katharina Rebay-Salisbury brings together archaeological finds and contemporary art.

The female body, its charisma and power, has been the inspiration for depictions of all kinds for many generations of artists. Female figurines from prehistory continue to resonate in the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, when Egon Schiele sketched the famous Venus of Willendorf in 1918, Meret Oppenheim created the bronze primeval Venus in 1933 and Maresa Jung took photographs of vegetables reminiscent of female figurines in 2021. In the early 20th century, this prehistoric influence was seen as inspiring, while at the same time tempting us to tell history in a different way, namely from a female perspective. The figurines thus formed the basis of an alternative to historiography written from a privileged male perspective.

The exhibition presents prehistoric depictions, primarily from Austria, and confronts them with works by contemporary artists that demonstrate the immense fascination of new art for older art. The juxtaposition of old and new art illustrates the influence and the unbroken active reception of archaeological finds. On the occasion of this exhibition, finds with female connotations from Austrian collections and museums are presented and placed in an international and contemporary art context. Austria's collections are home to the most important archaeological references for contemporary feminist art worldwide, which thematise the female body, its charisma, power and relationship to life.