The exhibition „The Gift of Mr. Wittgenstein“ is dedicated to the „Haus Wittgenstein“.
This landmark in the cultural landscape of Vienna inspired works that examine its undoubted architectural values, the personality of Ludwig Wittgenstein and the importance of this place in the cultural history of Austria but also of Bulgaria (being Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Vienna).

The works imply different techniques in order to create different „portraits“ of the house.
In the cycle of paintings by Vasilena Gankovska, the architectural object is interpreted by the means of street-art stencils – with the typical graphic contrast. They correspond to some colorful and flat surfaces in the background and thus creates a new look of the modernist architecture of the 20th century placed in the context of contemporary urban environment.

The modernist architecture inspired also the second cycle of paintings. They are completely abstract. Specific details of the house are borrowed – parts of the front door, windows or staircases. They are inter- preted by large geometric forms – creating harmonious figurative compositions and color combinations. The third part of the project presents photographs where the architecture is shown from unusual perspecti- ves. This photo series explores the position of the building into the surrounding urban realities.

In this way, the exhibition aims to analyze – through the tradition of the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein himself – the meaning of the object placed in different contexts.

Boris Kostadinov