Constructing Landscapes – Margherita Spiluttini & Heinz Tesar

A cooperation between the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the Vienna University of Technology and the Architekturzentrum Wien.
Constructing Landscapes is the result of an exhibition project by students from the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Technical University of Vienna initiated in the seminar “On Display“. Exploring collections of the Architekturzentrum Wien, the exhibition reflects on the perspectives and working methods of architectural photographer Margherita Spiluttini (1947–2023) and architect Heinz Tesar (1939–2024) and how they both engage with notions of landscape. This idea of landscape is further elaborated upon through the exhibition architecture which playfully ponders what imaginary landscapes can be created within designed spaces.

“I organize the frame.” (1) Margherita Spiluttini describes her photographic practice as one that captures not only architecture but also other elements of the real world to create an image reflecting her subjective perceptions. Similarly, Heinz Tesar, who also engages in self-exploration in his architectural designs, emphasizes this subjective viewpoint as central to his work. Both artists examine the relationship between individual elements and the surrounding landscape, creating a tension between reality and fiction. Spiluttini frames landscapes and generates a fictional portrayal of buildings and spaces, while Tesar visualizes projects intended to be part of a larger whole. Both utilize various media to develop their ideas and establish a relationship between their projects and their surroundings. The exhibition on Spiluttini and Tesar uses landscape as a central starting point to explore relationships between materials, space, and landscape and creates a conversation between reproductions of original plans, sketches, photographs and poetry. Four micro-narratives („relation,“ „introspection,” „formation,“ „transcendence”) are presented as offshoots of the landscape concept. The aim is to present the works of Spiluttini and Tesar in dialogue, rather than separating them based on their differences. The exhibition does not follow a specific chronological order, allowing visitors to explore the stations in any sequence, thereby opening up a variety of interpretative paths. Each micro-narrative is presented as a distinct unit but remains anchored within a thematic framework and engages in spatial dialogue with the others. This landscape concept enables a simultaneous discussion of unity and diversity, the individual and the collective, as well as reality and fiction.

(1) Quote from Margherita Spiluttini in: Hofer-Hagenauer, Gabriele et al. (Ed.), Margherita Spiluttini – Archiv der Räume, Fotohof edition, 2015, P. 11.

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