Valentin Aigner | Artists in Residence | Kamov Residency

Valentin Aigner

→ https://www.valentinaigner.com/

Valentin Aigner (*1985 in Schladming, Austria) studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. "Human existence is marked by uncertainties. The success model of our species lies in its adaptability." Starting from this idea, he has developed an artistic practice that turns precarious moments into building material. His approach is thus characterized by a diversity of methods and materials—heterogeneous and fragmented. Decay and transience are recurring motifs, explored in the charged space between the pristine and the discarded, between archaic symbols and pop-cultural clichés: simultaneities. His pieces hover between prop and stage element, intervene in existing spaces, may be fetish or found objects, marginal notes or fully articulated paintings - or perhaps simply objects of a broken genre, lingering between definitions.

Through the Lens of the Everyday. A Collection of Perspectives

04.05.-30.06.2025.

Austrian artist Valentin Aigner worked for many years as an art handler in various Viennese museums. This role opened up unexpected perspectives: not just on artworks, but on their hidden
infrastructure, their backside—literally and institutionally. 

The everyday view of an installer starts with frames and fittings but quickly moves behind the scenes—into depots, archives, corridors, and catacombs. It reveals the logistical choreography of objects and the often absurd, sometimes poetic realities of museum life.

Other museum roles also shape the narrative: restorers with their forensic gaze; iconologists who dissect meaning with taxonomic precision; guards who intuitively calibrate distance and safety; and
curators negotiating between vision and institutional pressure. These overlapping views form a complex ecology of our relationship with art. 

For the studio scholarship in Rijeka, he proposes to examine the MMSU collection through multi layered perspectives—addressing not only the artworks but also the institutional and social frameworks surrounding them. Drawing on his experiences from Vienna, he aims to develop an exhibition format that invites irony, dialogue, and the hidden logic of the everyday.

The residency is supported by the Cultural Department of the Styrian Regional Government.

Museum of modern and contemporary art

→ www.mmsu.hr

Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka (HR) - MMSU

MMSU in Rijeka founded in 1948, in its long tradition offers a committed support to innovative ways of approaching, producing and presenting art. From its very beginning the Museum has been building reputation of one of the most prominent visual art institutions in Croatia, entrusted with presentation of Croatian artists at prestigious international art events such as: Venice Biennial 1962, 1997, 2007, 2010, Sao Paolo Biennial 1967, 2004 etc. 

The Museum rounds its programming around visual art education, parallel to different modes of exhibition concepts that address new discursive possibilities and transform it into a place of inspiration, idea exchange and active participation. Under the motto openness, creativity & engagement, together with artistic, cultural and community organizations, Museum furthers visual arts research, collaboration and exchange within the region and internationally, while aspiring to reach increasingly diverse audiences and to work in a close relationship with the community.

Museum’s collection offers a diverse range of artistic visions with over 8,000 artworks dated from the end of the 19^th century to the present day. From 2017 Museum is located at new address, Krešimirova 26c, in ex-industrial complex Rikard Benčić. Since then, some important exhibitions were organized at MMSU in the framework of the pre-program and program of Rijeka 2020 - European Capital of Culture, i.e. Tomislav Gotovac: Crisis Anticipator - Don't Ask Where We're Going (2017), Vlado Martek: Exhibition with Many Titles and Goran Petercol: Don't Worry About Poetics, They Will Arrive on Their Own in 2019 and David Maljković: With the Collection in 2020..