Günter Schimunek: Die Wirklichkeit kommt später (Reality comes later)

Over several decades, Günter Schimunek (1942 – 2022) developed a distinctive visual language that merged painting, collage, and drawing. The Graz-based artist worked with hybrid figures, composite beings, and dreamlike constellations that defy clear stylistic categorization. His works combine a free, often playful formal language with a pronounced interest in imagination and the unconscious.

In addition to large-format paintings, he created photo collages — the so-called “bubble pictures” — and numerous works on paper. His drawings and sketches, created during various travels, in particular reveal an immediate working method in which observation and spontaneous image creation intertwine. At the same time, Schimunek was part of a vibrant network within the art scene of Graz for decades and collaborated repeatedly with other artists.

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Günter Schimunek,*Untitled*, 1980
Acrylic on Canvas, 370 × 180 cm
Courtesy: Private Collection, Styria

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Schimunek is also a figure through whom a chapter of Graz’s art history can be told. For decades, he was closely associated with artists such as Wolfgang Bauer, Gunter Falk, Gerhard Roth, and Martha Jungwirth, and moved in a milieu where collaborative work, exchange, and personal relationships played an important role. His work thus does not stand alone but is part of a dense network of encounters and artistic connections. It is precisely this perspective that makes him a special starting point for Changes. The series aims not only to bring individual, overlooked positions back into view, but also to take a fresh look at the stories, relationships, and constellations from which local art history emerges.

Die Wirklichkeit kommt später (Reality comes later) is the first institutional solo exhibition posthumously dedicated to Günter Schimunek’s work at the HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark. Nearly five years after his death, the exhibition also marks the launch of the new Changes series, which, among other things, focuses on artistic positions whose significance and visibility have changed over time.

Curators: Sandro Droschl and Jan Tappe

Artists

Participating artists

Soloshows (Selection):

Atelier Schaumbad, Graz (2022), Neue Galerie am Universalmuseum Graz (2004), Uhrturmkasematten, Graz (2002), Orpheum, Wien (2001), Galerie Exhibition, Graz (1989), Galerie Aduatz, Graz (1985), Künstlerbund Graz, Städtische Galerie Lienz (1980), Galerie Z, Graz (1979), Wiener Sezession, Wien (1977), Galerie Moser, Graz, (1976), Haus am Kleistpark, Berlin (1976), Galerie Katakombe, Basel (1972), Künstlerhaus, Graz (1965).