May 01 - October 31 , 2010

The museum of the painter Werner Berg (1904-1981), one of the most important Austrian artists of the 20th Century, has become a main attraction for art lovers from all over Europe. The pictures of Werner Berg, whose artistic roots are the German Expressionism, serve a unique documentation of the landscape in Lower Carinthia and the people living there.

Within the framework of the 2009 European Exhibition, the museum was extended by an elevator,  a room for creative workshops and a beautiful sculpture garden with sculptures of Alfred Hrdlicka, Fritz Wotruba, Karl Prantl, Josef Pillhofer, Erwin Reiter and Othmar Jaindl.

This year’s special exhibition is marked by the 75th birthday anniversary of wellknown, internationally recognized Carinthian artist Kiki Kogelnik (1935–97).

This exhibition focuses on her hangings in the form of drawings, sculptures and paintings from the 60s and early 70s, a period of time quite rightly considered to be an outstanding period for the artist and representing her summit in pop art. The confrontation with the selected works of Werner Berg illustrates some different imagery, thus revealing some unexpected similarities.

The museum offers a representative overview of the lifetime work of the

artist, born in Wuppertal Elberfeld in 1904, later settling down on Rutar’s farm in Lower Carinthia in 1931, in order to spend more time with his family as a farmer and artist, up until his death in 1981. His work, with its roots in German expressionism, serves as a unique documentation of the place of his residence in Lower Carinthia.

The museum is housed in a centuries old building at the Main Market in Bleiburg (Hauptplatz), whose expressively revitalised basic structure provides for the perfect placement of his works of art. A very successful symbiosis between the modern stylistic elements and the historic structure of the building itself makes a visit to the museum a very special architectural experience.