Kurt Hentschläger (AT) → FLUX

19:00-24:00, The installation is running continuously.
  • 14 City center
  • Immersive installation

About project

FLUX is an immersive light and sound installation unfolding in complete darkness. The silence and emptiness of the space are disrupted at irregular intervals by brief flashes of light, revealing abstract forms and shifting amorphous structures for a fraction of a second. Once the light disappears, the image lingers only on the retina. It becomes an ephemeral memory — transforming, dissolving and fading until it is replaced by another pulse of light.

Ambient sound permeates the space, connecting moments of light and darkness into a single whole. Here, sound is a significant component to the work that shapes the way we perceive the space as a whole.

FLUX oscillates between sensory deprivation and stimulation. The initial sense of uncertainty gradually gives way to a hypnotic state of heightened perception, in which the boundary between what we actually see and what our minds construct becomes blurred.

In dialogue with this year’s Signal Festival theme, Dream On!  Dreams and Visions, FLUX invites visitors into a space where images emerge not only before their eyes, but also within them. The installation evokes the mechanism of dreaming — the alternation of light and darkness, presence and absence, reality and imagination. Each visitor takes away a different experience, depending on how their mind responds to what is visible for only a fleeting moment.

The Artwork is presented in an european premiere with the support of 0XColletion – a leading international initiative dedicated to the collection, display, and advancement of digital and experiential art.

Artist

Kurt Hentschläger is an Austrian artist based in New York who creates performative installations for both physical and virtual spaces. His works — ZEE, FEED, FLUX, EKO, SUB and SOL — are raw and immersive, and explore perceptual effects. They challenge viewers psychologically while also offering a meditative respite from the stresses of the contemporary world. From 1992 to 2003, he was part of the duo Granular=Synthesis, which helped pioneer immersive art.

His practice combines experimentation at the intersection of art, music and theatre. Hentschläger has exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam,PS1 in New York and the ZKM Karlsruhe.. As a recipient of the Qwartz New Media Art Award Paris, he was commissioned for the 2012 London Olympics Cultural Programme and has taught as a Visiting Artist at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Location

The Savarin Riding Hall, dating from the mid-18th century, is part of the Sylva-Taroucca Palace complex, also known as the Piccolomini Palace (after its original owners) or Savarin. Located just steps from Na Příkopě Street, it remains largely unnoticed by passers-by. The complex acquired its present form between 1743 and 1752, with the Baroque reconstruction attributed to Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer. Since 2019, the palace’s historic buildings have been undergoing a comprehensive renovation, with a new public space being created here.

  • Patron of the installation

    0x.collection

  • Location partner

    CRESTYL