14.03.2026 – 26.04.2026
A novel by Thomas Bernhard is entitled ‘Der Atem’ (The Breath), and artist Wolfgang Bender calls a series of drawings ‘Atem’ (Breath). Both begin with an existential threat. Everything seems to be coming to an end, and all that remains are one’s own breaths to pull oneself back from the abyss. The breaths breathe life back into them, and this experience flows into a narrative in one case and drawings in the other. In this way, both the writer and the artist gain self-confidence. With his face close to the paper, he dabs ink dots onto it with a kind of stylus. As he does so, he pays attention to his breaths, which ultimately form the ‘title’ of the work. The number of breaths taken during each session is noted in pencil at the bottom of the finished drawing.
Wolfgang Bender
14.03.2026 – 26.04.2026
Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn und Taxis Bregenz
Gallusstraße 10a
6900 Bregenz
www.kuenstlerhaus-bregenz.at
