Stano Filko's 1980s Paintings at Layr, Vienna

Layr gallery in Vienna presents "Painting," an exhibition of Stano Filko's works from 1981 to 1990, running until May 23, 2026. Filko (1937–2015), a central figure in 1960s-70s conceptualism, created these works during his emigration from Czechoslovakia, with stays in Duisburg, Buffalo, and New York. The show includes paintings, assemblages, collages, and ensembles from found objects, often labeled "neo-expressionist" and linked to the Neue Wilde movement. However, the exhibition argues that these works, including the installation "Love of Ontology" (1982) shown at documenta 7, do not represent a break with conceptualism but rather a continuation of Filko's meta-discursive practice. Thematically, the works range from explicitly sexualized imagery to text-based pieces referencing his identity (FILKO, SLOVAK, STAN, AIDS) and geometric-modular abstractions. Filko's conceptual ambition persisted, organizing his oeuvre as a cosmos with "the world as a medium," leading to the fictitious institution "Archive SF," later realized in Bratislava. The exhibition challenges the dominant narrative of 1980s painting as a reactionary retour à l'ordre, positioning Filko's practice as exemplary of post-conceptual art.