Cattelan's Taxidermied Pigeons Land in Vienna's Theseustempel

Fifteen taxidermied pigeons by Maurizio Cattelan have been installed in the Theseustempel (Temple of Theseus) in Vienna's Volksgarten, on view until October 6, 2019. The work, titled "Turisti" (Tourists), originally debuted at the 1997 Venice Biennale curated by Germano Celant, featuring 200 pigeons. Cattelan conceived the piece after being invited to install a site-specific work in the Central Pavilion, where he found pigeons outnumbering tourists. The pigeons are from his own creation and are now placed on the cornice of the temple's empty cella. The Theseustempel, built between 1819 and 1823 by architect Peter von Nobile, originally housed a marble group by Antonio Canova depicting Theseus slaying the Minotaur, but the sculpture was moved to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in the late 19th century. Since 2012, a contemporary art program curated by Jasper Sharp has revitalized the space, hosting single works by international artists. Cattelan's installation engages with the void of the temple, echoing his earlier work at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where his retrospective was suspended in the rotunda. The piece is from the Prada collection in Milan.