Art exhibition- Clara Mayr & Philip Müller

Gefängnisgalerie Kaltern opens its second exhibition of 2026 on May 21, titled “Gefängnis” (“Prison”). The exhibition features works by Philip Müller and Clara Mayr, who approach the condition of captivity in different ways.

Clara Mayr presents ceramic sheep and pig heads oscillating between animal and human forms. Her sculptures appear as the result of long transformation processes shaped by repetition, breeding, and restricted living conditions. They condense questions of identity, memory, and adaptation into quiet yet striking images of existence without freedom.

In contrast stand the layered paintings of Philip Müller. With his cacophonous large-scale works, he fills the space with intense colours and formal playfulness. His paintings unfold narratives that confuse, entertain, and seduce, interwoven with familiar references. Müller is also co-founder of Wiener Achse.

The exhibition also presents a new series of collaged portraits: rough, dark works that address and attempt to process both personal and social fragmentation.

Together, the works create a field of tension between body and image, silence and excess, density and dissolution. The gallery itself becomes a resonant space in which external and internal limitations can be experienced.

Opening: May 21, 2026, 7 pm
Exhibition: May 22 – June 21, 2026