Nina Mambourg - Uneasy Women

HALLE13 proudly presents the debut exhibition in Vienna of the Zurich-based, Swiss-born painter Nina Mambourg. Through her figurative painting practice, Mambourg challenges the conventional representations of women in Western art history. The female portrait is reclaimed from the perspective of the male gaze, which seeks to disempower women by reducing them to passive objects of male desire. In individual and group portraits, women are liberated from the roles of mere models and male muses. They are depicted lounging in chairs, smoking cigarettes, or interacting in group settings that convey a playfully subversive aura as if they were orchestrating a humorous act of revenge. Notably, Mambourg crafts her pieces not from photographs but from the rich reservoir of her imagination. This approach lends a unique vitality to her works that transcend the limitations of captured moments. Whether they confront viewers with a direct, defiant gaze or appear oblivious to the audience's presence, Mambourg's women emerge as empowered figures, driven by their own desires rather than those imposed by the viewer.

Nina Mambourg, born in Luzern in 1970, has emerged as a quiet force in the contemporary art scene over the past decade, with notable exhibitions at Tokyo Art Fair (2017), Helmhaus Zurich (2012), and WERKSCHAU in Zurich (2020). HALLE13 is privileged to bring her to Vienna for the first time and present five of Mambourg's mesmerising canvases. To extend the experience, we are also excited to present a work exclusively in our off-site partnership at FONTANA Golfclub, Oberwaltersdorf.