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TOO REAL TO BE TRUE
In this exhibition three extraordinary photographic positions come together to cast the everyday in a bizarre light: Martin Parr, Reiner Riedler and Piero Percoco. Their images create a reality that is so intense that it shocks, fascinates and touches us - and yet seems strangely unreal.
Martin Parr's series Cakes & Balls, created in Vienna, is a tongue-in-cheek declaration of love to the city’s coffeehouse and festive culture. With his signature sense of irony and exaggeration, he captures opulent cakes, gleaming uniforms, and bizarre rituals - exposing the fine line between splendour and kitsch.
Reiner Riedler, in his ongoing series This Side of Paradise, explores places where the Austrian dream of freedom and pleasure is condensed - with a melancholy undertone that, as David Schalko explained during the opening speech at the WestLicht Museum 2022, makes an unfulfilled longing perceptible.
Finally, Italian photographer Piero Percoco turns his lens on the small moments of everyday Italian life - garish colours, intimate scenes, fleeting beauty. Direct, playful and full of empathy.
An exhibition about the real in the absurd - and about the absurdity of the real.
All works are available for purchase. Please send inquiries to shop@ostlicht.org.
Duration: 05.04.–03.05.2025