Oskar Kokoschka's Graphic Oeuvre at Museum der Moderne Salzburg

The Museum der Moderne Salzburg presents 'Oskar Kokoschka. The Printed Oeuvre in the Context of Its Time,' a comprehensive exhibition of the artist's graphic works spanning from early 20th-century Vienna to his late interest in ancient Greek art. Kokoschka (1886–1980) witnessed the traumatic shift from the 19th century to modernity, including World War I, totalitarianism, World War II, the Cold War, and the rise of consumer society. The show documents his stylistic evolution from the Vienna Secession to Expressionism, and later to classical influences. His preferred technique was chalk lithography, which he used to convey physical and moral suffering, rejecting aesthetic canons. Early works like 'Dreaming Boys' (1908) explore adolescent sexuality in decadent Vienna, with echoes of Gustav Klimt and Art Nouveau. The 'Pietà' (1909) exemplifies his anguished Expressionism. After moving to Germany in 1917, he focused on portraiture, producing melancholic works such as the self-portrait of 1923 and the portrait of his mother (1917). He fled to Prague and London in 1938, then settled in Switzerland in 1953, where he turned to classical Greek art, finding ethical and aesthetic principles in antiquity. He created posters for the 1972 Munich Olympics featuring a kouros symbolizing athletic prowess. The exhibition runs until February 17, 2019.