mariavbelowa@gmail.com
Current Shows:
Group show at Deichtorhallen Hamburg Falckenberg Collection (DE)
27 April–15 September 2024
In the gaudy and colorful installations by Austrian duo Jakob Lena Knebl and Ashley Hans Scheirl, nothing is as it seems: in a mix of fashion, painting, sculpture, photography and film, they create walk-in, seductive worlds in the aesthetic of the 1970s that captivate visitors.
The exhibition will be complemented by works by students from Prof. Angela Bulloch's Time Based Media class at the HFBK and works by students from Jakob Lena Knebl's Transmedia Art class at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. In addition, works selected by the artists from the Falckenberg Collection will be on display.
Maria’s multifaceted practice reveals a blend of performance and objecthood, where the two are in a constant state of dialogue and exchange. It is predicated on her ability to make the invisible visible, to give form to the formless, and voice to the silent. Her works, imbued with a sense of absence, explore human desire for connection and transcendence, as well as the power structures that shape and constrain those aspirations.
Fine Art (Mary Evans), Chelsea College - University of the Arts London, 2023
Art Photography (Anja Manfredi), Schule Friedl Kubelka Wien, with the teaching contributions by Elfie Semotan, Josephine Pryde, Timm Rautert & others, 2019–2020
Women in Tech, Villa Mautner Jäger, Vienna, 2024
Interspace, Galeria WY, Łódź (PL), 2024
ReA! Art Fair, Milan (IT), 2023
PARALLEL VIENNA, Vienna, 2023
Figures of Imagination. Trans..., Georg Kargl Permanent, Vienna, 2022
Soft Machine, Phileas – The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art, Vienna, curated by Jakob Lena Knebl, 2022
Anti–Anti–Anti: de-visibility, unbiased biases and friends, Angewandte Festival, Vienna, curated by Mauricio Ianes de Moraes, 2022
Get It While You Can!, Never At Home, Vienna, co-curated by Maria Belova, 2022
Search for Your People, performative action with Mariya Vasilyeva, University of Applied Arts, Vienna, 2022
A shop is a shop is a shopbeta. Conceptual store, Kunsthalle, Vienna, curated by Klaus Speidel, 2022
Maria Belova: Unspoken, solo show in Konzilgedächtniskirche, Vienna, curated by Gustav Schörghofer SJ, 2021
The 8th Catholic Arts Biennial, The Verostko Center for the Arts, PA (USA), 2021
REALITY, Kunstsalon FLUC, Vienna, curated by Anna Zwingl & Brigitte Kowanz, 2021
Stille Räume, das Weisse Haus, Vienna, curated by Itai Margula, 2020
Bingo!, performative solo intervention, Belvedere 21, Vienna, 2020
Net Works, with Darja Shatalova, Kara Agora European Art & Research Center, online, curated by Julia Hartmann, 2020
Ya I Ona, performance with Darja Shatalova, in the framework of Question Me & Answer, Improper Walls, Vienna, curated by Smaranda Krings, Osama Zatar & Justina Speirokaite, 2019
Freelance art documentation & Content creator (with viennacontemporary, Phileas, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, ZAHORIAN & VAN ESPEN gallery, das weisse haus, Question Me & Answer, Improper Walls gallery, lt.art festival, multiple individual artists), 2020–now
Co-Curator, Get It While You Can!, Never At Home, Vienna (with Ganaël Dumreicher, Isolar Mesec, Felix Schellhorn, Marlene Stahl, Iris Writze), 2022
PR & Communications Responsible, A shop is a shop is a shopbeta. Conceptual store, Kunsthalle, Vienna, 2022
The Hero, 2024
- Aluminium, 28.5x28.5 cm each, all 120x120 cm
This artwork, crafted through the technique of etching—a method historically invented for decorating armory and weaponry—centers around the theme of the romanticisation of violence and the archetypal hero. Mirroring the narrative of St. George Victorious, the piece revises a classic Christian myth, questioning its standard narrative. Rather than slaying a metaphorical dragon that stands for the abstract evil, the central figure is depicted as an agent of violence against ordinary people – the real-life victims of his actions.
Encircled, he’s surrounded by words sourced from media outlets, selected for their role in glorifying the image of the soldier. They emphasize the stark contrast between the media portrayal of militaristic heroism and the harsh realities of violence and its tangible impact on real lives.