About

SIGN O’ THE TIMES / OF PILLARS AND MIRRORS 

In the unique architectural setting of Cărturești Carusel, defined by its rows of pillars, Nives Widauer created a site-specific work titled „Pillars of Democracy”. Responding to the spatial rhythm of the location, the artworks draw attention to the symbolic and structural significance of pillars—not only as physical supports, but as metaphors for the values that uphold democratic societies. In these complex and uncertain times, the exhibition serves as a direct reminder that democracy is never guaranteed and must be actively upheld and protected. In the same evocative manner, the title of the exhibition, „Sign o’ the times / Of pillars and mirrors”, alludes to Prince’s 1987 song „Sign o’ the Times” —a powerful musical commentary on the social, political, and existential crises of its era, which remains strikingly relevant in the context of today’s global events: „When a rocket ship explodes and everybody still wants to fly / But some say a man ain’t happy unless a man truly dies.”

„Mirrors bearing engraved verbs, drawings composed of typographic fragments, and aphoristic phrases rendered in colored pencil—all these elements mobilize language as spatial event. They transform words from semantic carriers into performative forces. The act of writing—etched, mirrored, drawn, traced—becomes a gesture of appearance, a means of making the self visible in and through relation.’’ - Anne Avramut, „Designo Ergo Sum – Language as Visible Action”

Nives Widauer (b.1965, Basel) is a Vienna-based artist whose interdisciplinary practice spans video, installation, sculpture, painting, drawing, and collage. Trained in audiovisual design at the Basel School of Design, she has developed a unique artistic language characterized by the fluid integration of diverse media and techniques. Her work draws together autobiographical traces, cultural and art historical references, collective memory, and language, forming a personal yet universally resonant visual mythology. In addition to her extensive international exhibition history—including institutions such as the Kunstmuseum Basel, Kunsthaus Zürich, New-York Historical Society, Austrian Cultural Forum, and Belvedere Museum Vienna—she also designs live-video stage environments for opera, theater, and music. Her published works include „Villa Nix” (2019), „SPECIAL CASES” (2017), and „DO I DREAM OR AM I ALIVE?” (2011), among others.

The exhibition „Sign o’ the times / Of pillars and mirrors” was organized by /SAC – The Space of Contemporary Art with the support of the Austrian Cultural Forum.