Safety Curtain of the Vienna State Opera 2026/27

The 29th installment of the ‘Safety Curtain’ exhibition series – conceived by museum in progress and realised since 1998 in cooperation with the Vienna State Opera and the Bundestheater-Holding – will be dedicated posthumously to a work by Herbert Brandl.

‘Safety Curtain’ is an exhibition series conceived by museum in progress and realised in collaboration with the Vienna State Opera and the Bundestheater-Holding. Since 1998, the project has transformed the safety curtain of the main stage into an exhibition space for contemporary art. The 176 m² paintings are secured to the fire-resistant wall with magnets and can be viewed by the audience before and after performances, as well as during the intervals.

Herbert Brandl’s powerful works are characterised by striking colour and atmospheric intensity, oscillating between abstraction and figuration. In 2007, he represented Austria at the Venice Biennale and had previously taken part in documenta in 1992 and the São Paulo Biennial in 1989. His works are held in numerous renowned museums worldwide, including the Albertina in Vienna, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Museu Serralves in Porto, the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid and the Renaissance Society in Chicago. With his distinctive, intuitive visual language, Brandl occupies a central place in Austrian and international contemporary art.

Photos:
Herbert Brandl, Safety Curtain, museum in progress, Vienna State Opera, 2026/27. © museum in progress
Herbert Brandl © Rudi Molacek