At Art-O-Rama the gallery presents large format works on paper by Anna Schachinger.

In these pieces Schachinger explores private spaces and scenes that negotiate politics in small entities of everyday life. However, they seem too large to fit into the space intended for them, thereby suggesting that the scenes extend beyond the seen, challenging larger societal structures. Moreover, the selective views, indications, and distortions in Schachinger’s representations point to the general limitation of the ability of representation itself.

Schachinger’s Büglerin (mit Ablenkung) (2017) feels monumental. The main figure is buried under a pile, a mountain, of what appears to be a never-ending, particularly wrinkled fabric that she irons, performing repetitive maintenance work. Schachinger makes the woman’s activity the center of the piece, and, by putting a spectator to her side, turns this sisiphean task into a heroic act.

In 2020, Schachinger worked on a a series that culminated in her exhibition Hitze. This body of work is set in a sauna, notably the woman’s sauna of Amalienbad in Vienna. The idea for a women-only space is to be protective. However, these spaces are not free of conflict and power-structures themselves.

Schachinger’s scenes keenly observe the social dynamics in these settings, seeing them both for their limitations and potential for revolutionary moments.