The exhibition Pas de Deux is a project to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the two galleries Fotogalerie Wien and Galerie Vrais Rêves. The first part of this exhibition was in Vienna at Fotogalerie Wien. It would not have been possible without Brigitte Konyen and Michael Michlmayr the curators of this exhibition in Vienna. We were lucky to be able to interview them. 10 questions were asked to both curators.

Bénédicte Rochette (B. R.): Have you studied? If yes, which subjects? Were there any professional stages in your career?
Brigitte Konyen (B. K.): For private reasons I have no classical academic training, but I have always drawn, painted and photographed, educated myself with various courses and as a guest student at the academy.

B. R.: Did you have particular career goals as a child, and how do they differ from your current profession?
B. K.: As a child, I wanted to do exactly what I do now. 

B. R.: What do you like most in the field of art?
B. K.: I am interested in all different areas of art, what is basically important to me is an authenticity in artistic expression.

B. R.: Why did you choose Vienna for your work?
B. K.: It came about through various circumstances and I like living in Vienna very much. 

B. R.: Since when have you been interested in art?
B. K.: As I said, since my childhood. 

B. R.: What influence does art have on your life?
B. K.: Even if it sounds dramatic, art is my life. 

B. R.: Are there any particularly important contacts that have had a major influence on you, or have there been specific moments with art that have influenced you personally?
B. K.: A big influence in terms of photography was my mother, who was a classically trained photographer. So photography was always a topic for me from a very young age. Furthermore, my father, who was an architect but originally wanted to become a visual artist. He always encouraged me to express myself artistically and we went to museums and visited exhibitions together. 

B. R.: What is your typical working day like?
B. K.: As an artist, I don't have a typical working day, because you are an artist 24 hours a day. 

B. R.: Is there an artist whose art appeals to you in a special way?
B. K.: There are many, as I said, it appeals to me when I find an authentic artistic expression in it. 

B. R.: What are the next projects for your gallery?
B. K.: At the moment I'm concentrating mainly on my own artistic work and otherwise I'm working on curatorial projects that I don't want to talk about at the moment.

Bénédicte Rochette (B. R.): Have you studied? If yes, which subjects? Were there any professional stages in your career?
Mchael Michlmayr (M. M.): Initially, I had begun to study psychology. However, photography has always accompanied and interested me. I am self-taught. Always had lively exchange and cooperation with fellow artists and fellow photographers. An important station in my artistic career was certainly the acquaintance with Raymond Viallon, from the gallery Vrais Rêves, which led to a fruitful exchange about artistic photography and also to my representation as an artist in the gallery.

B. R.: Did you have particular professional goals as a child, and how do they differ from your current profession?
M. M.: My only goal was to do what I want and can do. I have achieved that and I am satisfied with it.

B. R.: What do you like most in the field of art?
M. M.: A new, expanded view of the world, our environment and our lives.

B. R.: Why did you choose Vienna for your work?
M. M.: It came about because of my birth there. Traveling and working in other places is very important for me, however, to broaden my horizon!

B. R.: Since when have you been interested in art?
M. M.: Since I was a teenager. I was especially attracted to cinematic art and artistic photography. This has remained with me until today.

B. R.: What kind of influence does art have on your life?
M. M.: It is my spiritual food.

B. R.: Are there any particularly important contacts that have had a significant influence on you, or were there certain moments with art that influenced you personally?
M. M.: As I mentioned, Raymond Viallon of Galerie Vrais Rêves and Josef Wais, the founder of Fotogalerie Wien.

B. R.: What does your typical workday look like?
M. M.: I read newspapers, do research for my own work, exchange ideas with my fellow artists.

B. R.: Is there an artist whose art appeals to you in a special way?
M. M.: There are many. I don't want to single out any of them here.

B. R.: What are the next projects for your gallery?
M. M.: I am in the process of working out the next year's program with my curatorial colleagues at the gallery.

Fotogalerie Wien
Währinger Strasse 59/WUK
A–1090 Vienna
Austria
T: +43 1 4045462
F: +43 1 4030478
fotogalerie-wien@wuk.at
www.fotogalerie-wien.at

Pas des Deux, exhibition in Vienna, Austria

Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna, Austria

Thomas Kellner's works in the exhibition Pas des Deux

Pas de deux in Lyon

Interview Remy Mathieu

Galerie Vrais Rêves