Lois Weinberger was born in 1947 in Stams, Austria, and currently lives and works in Vienna. Weinberger works to draw attention to marginal zones and questions hierarchies of various types; he sees himself as an agricultural worker and has explored the spaces of nature and civilization in his work since the 1970s. Instead of presenting a romantic depiction of nature as purely primitive—a vision he considers a mere human invention—his work indicates that the concepts of “natural” and “artificial” are undeniably fused. Lois has worked with his wife, Franziska Weinberger (born in 1953 in Innsbruck, Austria) since 1997, and together they explore themes and questions such as blind faith in science (the so-called objectivity of scientific research), the ecologically arranged landscape and its aesthetics, and socially determined ideas of nature. When dealing with these subjects in their work, the artists leave room for the “non-intervention” of nature, where they let nature simply be itself or grow into the installation. Their creations often fit in with—or reflect—current issues such as urbanization, migration, and globalization. At the same time, their artistic “gardens” remain open spaces and systems, detached from dogmatic definitions and set interpretations.
Weinberger has exhibited extensively throughout his career, with recent solo exhibitions at Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2014 and 2002), Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany (2014 and 2003), Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria (2013), Les Prairies Biennale d’Art Contemporain, Rennes, France (2012), Villa Dieu Seul Sait, Cotonou, Benin (2012), Musée d’ Art Moderne de Saint Etienne, France (2011), 21er Haus Belvedere, Vienna (2011), tranzit, Bratislava, Slovakia (2009), Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria (2009), Kunsthalle Gießen, Germany (2007), Arnolfini, Bristol, England (2006), S.M.A.K. Stedelijk Museum voor Aktuele Kunst, Ghent, Belgium (2005), City Hall, Vienna (2005), Kunsthallen Brandts Klaedefabrik, Odense, Denmark (2004), Kunstverein Hannover, Germany (2003), and Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, Austria (2002). He has been in group exhibitions recently at Soleil politique, Museion Bozen, Bolzano, Italy (2014), Berlin Photo, Teutloff Photo Collection, Bielefeld, Germany (2014), Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2013), TBA21, Vienna (2013), Austrian Cultural Forum, New York (2013), the Städel Museum, Frankfurt (2012), Bétonsalon – Centre d’art et de recherche, Triennale Paris (2012), Vienna Secession (2009), the Austrian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2009), the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan (2006), the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Japan (2006), the Nagoya City Art Museum, Japan (2005), the Liverpool Biennial, England (2004), the Art Museum Miami (2002), MASS MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts (2002), Sonsbeek 9, Arnhem, the Netherlands (2001), Skulptur-Biennale Münsterland, Germany (2001), and Documenta X, Kassel, Germany (1997), among others.
