Exibition: Elisabeth Frei - Magari

Elisabeth Frei lives and works in Laion (Lajen), a village perched high above the Isarco (Eisack) Valley. Deeply rooted in the local community, she creates spaces for art and exhibitions through the recurring series Kunst im Gange (“Art in the Corridor”) at the town hall. Positioned at the heart of village life and close to the people, Frei has a keen understanding of their habits, quirks, and contradictions. For many years, her attentive observation of her surroundings and of South Tyrol has inspired artistic reflections on politics and everyday life.

Her works respond to the twists and turns of politics, society, and daily life—not through biting satire or cynical caricature, but with irony and a subtle sense of empathy. Masterful in both material and technique, Frei works across drawing, painting, montage, and collage. Through her continuous artistic interventions, many of which are also published on platforms such as salto.bz, she has become one of the few artists to chronicle the rapid transformation of South Tyrol over the past decade. In doing so, Elisabeth Frei has created an archive of the present whose significance continues to grow over time.

“Magari” is a phrase deeply embedded in everyday life in South Tyrol. It reflects the region’s characteristic ambiguity and the widespread tendency to avoid making firm commitments. Expressions such as “Magari we'll meet next week…” or “Magari I'll stop by again sometime” are usually understood to mean that the proposed meeting is unlikely to happen. The works Elisabeth Frei presents in the vaulted spaces of the Kunstforum explore these South Tyrolean ambiguities. They reveal the products and symbols generated by the South Tyrolean regional brand and its distinctive colour palette, transforming the imagery of advertising into a form of almost fantastical realism. She plays with the red and white of South Tyrolean speck, colours that simultaneously evoke a form of manufactured patriotism.

At the heart of “Magari” is one of South Tyrol’s most recognizable symbols: the blue work apron (Schurz). Frei skilfully stages these aprons as autonomous sculptures, allowing the posture and presence of their absent wearers to emerge. Arranged in groups, they evoke card players, men waiting, posing, or observing. The apron becomes a symbol of belonging, but also a form of protection—concealing a masculinity that is both assertive and vulnerable.

“Magari” offers an insightful journey into the world of South Tyrolean identities and sensibilities. Yet it never becomes simplistic or didactic. Instead, it reflects Elisabeth Frei’s distinctive artistic perspective. Year after year, her work gains relevance as an artistic seismograph of South Tyrol and its evolving society.