Mumok

The mumok, officially the Museum of Modern Art Foundation Ludwig Vienna, is a federal museum in Vienna's MuseumsQuartier in the seventh district. The current cube-shaped building of volcanic rock, designed by the architects Ortner & Ortner, opened in 2001 and offers around 4,800 square meters (about 51,700 square feet) of exhibition space for the main works of the collection. The museum's history, however, goes back to 1962, when it was founded in the Schweizergarten as the Museum of the 20th Century. Under the direction of Werner Hofmann, the museum succeeded in building up a significant collection of classic modern art. Later, from 1990 on, Lóránd Hegyi built up one of the largest collections of Eastern European art in Europe. A decisive turning point was the founding of the Austrian Ludwig Foundation in 1981, made possible by the generous donation of the collectors Irene and Peter Ludwig. These loans and later acquisitions secured the museum around 230 works by international artists such as Picasso, Warhol, and Richter.

Today the collection comprises about 10,000 works by roughly 1,600 artists and is divided into several thematic sections. Alongside classic modern art, which represents movements such as Expressionism, Cubism, and Dadaism with works by artists like Kokoschka, Kirchner, and Magritte, the avant-garde movements of the 1960s and 1970s are a central focus. Here you'll find key works of Pop Art, Nouveau Réalisme, and Conceptual Art, including pieces by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Gerhard Richter, and Joseph Beuys. A focus that is unique in the world is the collection on Viennese Actionism. Here the mumok houses not only the most important works by artists such as Günter Brus, Hermann Nitsch, and Otto Muehl, but also extensive documentation showing the radical crossing of traditional art forms in space and time.

In addition, the museum devotes itself to contemporary art, with particular attention to photography, video, and film as well as painting and sculpture. You'll experience a broad range of contemporary positions by Austrian and international artists, many of whom engage with social and institutional themes. Among the names represented are Cindy Sherman, Franz West, and Heimo Zobernig. The museum presents its holdings in changing exhibitions that both highlight its own collection and reflect current trends in contemporary art. As an international venue for modern and contemporary art, the mumok offers a comprehensive look at artistic developments of recent decades.