Born 1984 in Vöcklabruck, Austria
Lives and works in Vienna, Austria
In his artistic work, Linus Riepler deals with the complexity of space, its perception, and the question of how a narrative can be inscribed in a spatial setting. He creates staged worlds, either as room-filling installations or in the form of showcases or dioramas in small display cases. Based on personal memories and critical examination of daily life and social structures, Linus Riepler experiments with different kinds of storytelling – historical facts, fictional stories, and personal experiences merge together into an imaginary world appearing as multi-layered walk-in installations that place the participatory role of the viewer at the center of the work. Because the art of storytelling has already produced a rich media history, references to film, theatre, theatre architecture, and various forms of display resonate more or less distinctly in his work. The spaces function both as a frame and as part of the narratives. Elements of the environment, stage, set, and model converge into a place of artistic experience for the audience. The working process begins in the moment before something becomes a memory and stands at the threshold between experiencing and remembering. Stories within his works are repeatedly reworked, altered, and abstracted through a variety of media – through this recurring retelling, the narration is released from its personal context and thus made accessible to everyone. These works are bridges between his own memories and those of the viewers.
Linus Riepler studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. In 2017, he received the Klemens Brosch Award, in 2014 the Heinrich Gleißner Advancement Award, and in 2013 the Theodor Körner Award. In 2022, he was nominated for the Kardinal König Prize. Exhibitions include Center of Contemporary Art Tbilisi (2023), Open Art Biennial Örebro (2019), Traklhaus, Salzburg (2021), MUSA, Vienna (2015), Radvila Palace Museum of Art, Vilnius (2021), OÖ Landesmuseum, Linz (2018), and the 15th Biennale de la Mediterranée, Thessaloniki (2011) among others. He participated in several artist-in-residence programs, including HIAP Helsinki (2024), Kamiyama AiR, Japan (2019), and Laboratory Spokane, USA (2017).
