The installation No Access by the Austrian artist PETER SANDBICHLER stands out as a contradiction in the context of the Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation in Vienna. In their warlike formation, the 21 [in the design] metal lockers not only appear to push the boundaries of the institution’s exhibition space, but their hermetic structure also subverts the conceptual aims and requirements of the site, which is conceived as an open forum for communication.

Regarding its modular structure and the circular arrangement of the individual elements, the construction of No Access corresponds to Frederick Kiesler’s Mobile Home Library from 1938/39, the practical centrepiece of his research into new design methods in the field of everyday design at Columbia University in New York. In a design drawing, SANDBICHLER makes reference to this correlation and cites Kiesler’s project as an influence, naming it as his source of inspiration. However, in contrast to Kiesler’s Mobile Home Library, whose concept was aimed at mobility, flexible use and above all unrestricted accessibility, SANDBICHLER’s work is statuary and confronts the viewer with refusal.

And yet there are other, very important similarities between Kiesler’s modernist research focus and the contemporary artistic approach. Terms like ‘home’ (Kiesler) and ‘private’ (SANDBICHLER) are inscribed in the works as meaningful labels – one as the title and one on the object itself – and ultimately mean the same thing: an individual frame of reference, customized to the unique, personal needs of the individual.

(Monika Pessler, press release on the exhibition at the Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Vienna 2007)

Exhibited at the Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation in 2007, PETER SANDBICHLER’s work was acquired for the collection in 2008, then initially installed in the passageway to the chapel and in 2012 in the castle attic in the context of the Buchberger Sommer [Buchberg Summer].

www.petersandbichler.com