→ Magic Of Extension
Installation | 2025 | Galerie3 | Klagenfurt | photos: Johannes Puch
The installation series Magic Of Extension
consists of an “original” — a gouache painting depicting a stylized, muscular figure — several reproductions of the motif on various objects, as well as items that incorporate elements from the painting: drinking bottles, tea cups, bedside rugs, scarves, poster prints, and erasers in small editions; a garland, a pair of underpants, a wrestling mask, and more.
The figure itself appears at once absurd and heroic, oscillating with its grotesquely exaggerated body full of delight between irony and iconization, while delving deeply into art-theoretical discourse. In Walter Benjamin’s sense, the artwork loses the aura of the original through its reproduction — yet this is precisely where its potential lies: it becomes democratized and consumable. Pierre Bourdieu would see “Magic Of Extension” as an example of aesthetic distinction in the age of the market, in which cultural capital can be displayed simply through acquired objects.
Of course, the numerous replications unsettle the singular original motif and rob it of its contemplative depth; nevertheless, a broader group of people from diverse income levels gains access to the image — inspired by the Mona Lisa umbrella or the T-shirt featuring Velázquez’s Infanta.
