Jacqueline Mesmaeker's First International Retrospective at Museum der Moderne

The first international retrospective for Belgian media artist Jacqueline Mesmaeker (1929–2023) is on view at Museum der Moderne in Salzburg through September 14. Titled 'Secret Outlines', the exhibition features over 40 works spanning drawing, sculpture, film, and installation, all centered on her practice of spotlighting overlooked details in existing cultural artifacts. Key works include the ten-meter-long 'Les Porte Roses' (1975), which progressively writes a phrase from 'Alice in Wonderland' across 32 sheets with growing pink rectangles; 'Lapin' (1974), a series of pale purple drawings where a pointillist rabbit gradually disappears; and the double slide projection 'Les Régentes (Franz Hals / Paul Claudel)' (1990–2012), which isolates hands from Frans Hals's group portrait and renders them as flames. Two works address the fate of Charlotte of Belgium: 'Les Charlottes II' (1977) presents faded black-and-white copies of documents under greenhouse glass, while 'La Serre de Maximilien et de Charlotte' (1977–2020) is a bamboo greenhouse referencing Maximilian's botanical interests. The film section includes '1998' (1995), filmed inside a cooling facility lift, and 'Surface de Réparation' (1979), a deconstruction of football and filmic montage using four projectors on 12 translucent silk tulle screens. The exhibition argues for Mesmaeker's reconsideration as a key media artist whose work analyzes how new narratives can emerge from preexisting media.