Context

12 Colors of Reality (Balloons), 1978 – 2011
Stano Filko 

Video

Before the exhibition finissage a one-day action took place around the HALLE FÜR KUNST. Twelve outsized balloon objects, 12 Colors of Reality (Balloons) (1978−2011), were presented in the City Park. They represent the artist’s color system, which began with the three colors red, blue, and white but that Filko then developed into his System SF with a total of twelve colors, each of which has a symbolic meaning determined by the artist as well as embodying specific dimensions and chakras. Via these twelve monumental balloon objects Filko’s system is extended into the Graz City Park, which thus becomes a part of his cosmic visions.

Artists

Participating artists

Stano Filko

*1937 Veľká Hradná, †2015 in Bratislava

The artworks of Stano Filko (*1937 Velka Hradna, †2015 in Bratislava) have been on show in renowned institutions such as the Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava; the Kunstmuseum Basel; Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz; Kunsthalle Bratislava; Zacheta – National Gallery of Art, Warsaw; National Museum, Krakow; Fondazione Morra Greco, Naples; ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe; Ludwig Múzeum, Budapest; Garage Project Space, Moscow; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; P.S.1, New York; MACBA, Barcelona; Centre Pompidou, Paris; mumok, Wien; Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo; státna galléria (State Gallery), Banská Bystrica; Musée d‘Art Moderne, Paris; and Moravská galerie, Brno. His work attracted international attention amongst others at the 11. Biennale de Lyon, the Prague Biennale 3, the 51. Biennale di Venezia, the Documenta 7 in Kassel and the EXPO in Osaka. Gallery Emanuel Layr presented the artist at Frieze Art Fair London and at Art Basel.

More contributions

STAGES — Hanna Besenhard 

Slide show

Hanna Besenhard_Starry Hours_,2025

The recurring format of STAGES is as radical as it is simple: young artists from Graz and Styria are offered a stage for the duration of an evening – or ocasionally longer. HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark… 

STAGES - Hanna Besenhard

Diedrich Diederichsen
Vortrag 

Video

On the basis of his contribution to the publication, conceived against the backdrop of Poledna’s film produced in Los Angeles in the summer of 2024 especially for the exhibition at HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark, Diederichsen will discuss and present Mathias Poledna’s artistic career with references to music and art history as well as pop culture.

Diedrich Diederichsen

Karel Císař
Lecture 

Video

In this lecture, Císař will explore Mathias Poledna’s career and artistic practice against the backdrop of the current exhibition, which can also be understood as a kind of retrospective. 

Karel Císař – Lecture

Mathias Poledna
Exhibition Tour 

Slide show

Mathias Poledna has created a complex, multi-layered body of work in which films, expansive installations and architectural interventions are in constant dialog with each other, where independent series of works, found objects and ephemeral materials all condense to form a singular artistic language. Central to his practice are questions of modernity, cultural memory and the visual imaginary in art and popular culture.

Ausstellungsrundgang Mathias Poledna