Galerie Nikolaus Ruzicska presents Peter Halley's first solo exhibition in Austria in nearly two decades. The exhibition features a selection of his most recent paintings, created especially for this show and thus presented publicly for the first time.
Halley uses geometric abstraction to explore the social, technological, and spatial networks of the modern world. His iconic "Prisons" and "Cells" – rectangular forms connected by thick lines ("conduits") – function as visual metaphors for the isolation cells of contemporary existence: from prison cells to office cubicles to digital screens.
Halley's distinctive palette of Day-Glo pigments and Roll-a-Tex gives his works an intense, vibrating presence. The hyperreal colors and industrial materials mark a conscious reinterpretation of classical modernism and celebrate the vital aesthetic of contemporary consumer culture.
Peter Halley's work remains highly relevant: In an era of increasing digital connectivity and simultaneous social fragmentation, his geometric compositions offer critical commentary on the conditio humana of the 21st century. The exhibition at Galerie Nikolaus Ruzicska offers the rare opportunity to experience brand-new works by an artist whose visual vocabulary has fundamentally shaped the art and cultural landscape of the past four decades.