Polish Institute in Vienna Presents Maciej Markowicz’s Above the River and Under the Sky in Innsbruck
Polish Institute in Vienna presents Maciej Markowicz exhibition in Innsbruck
March 31st, 2026
The Polish Institute in Vienna presents the interdisciplinary exhibition Above the River and Under the Sky by Polish artist Maciej Markowicz on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the invention of photography. The exhibition opens on Tuesday, 14 April 2026, and will run from Wednesday, 15 April to Saturday, 18 July 2026, at INN SITU, Stadtforum 1, 6020 Innsbruck. Admission is free.
The exhibition centres on Markowicz’s work with the camera obscura. It features directly exposed colour negatives, referred to as “Motiongraphs”, created using camera obscura installations at alpine flowing waters in Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Markowicz transforms boats or cars into mobile pinhole cameras, in which light enters through an opening and falls onto large-format chromogenic photographic paper. Although each work is created with an exposure time of only a few seconds, it does not capture a fixed place, but rather a flowing moment. In this way, light, time, and movement become visible, documenting the transience and dynamism of landscapes through unique works.
For the exhibition, Markowicz photographed rivers such as the Inn, the Lech, and the young Rhine, often from bridges whose structures remain only faintly recognisable. These landscape works are complemented by portraits from public spaces in Innsbruck. His artistic practice moves between photography, painting, sculpture, and performance, opening a poetic dialogue between human presence, nature, and the moment.
In connection with the exhibition, INN SITU presents an interdisciplinary accompanying format in which image, music, and conversation enter into resonance with Markowicz’s works. A jazz trio will improvise in response to selected projections, while guests from the fields of art history, journalism, and environmental protection will discuss individual works. The musical improvisation responds to central themes of the exhibition, including the bridge as a point of view and water as a flowing element, creating an open dialogue between different perspectives and the audience.
Above the River and Under the Sky is Maciej Markowicz’s first solo exhibition in Austria and invites visitors to experience photography as a moment between movement, time, and perception.
Gallery opening hours: Monday to Friday, 11:00–18:00; Saturday, 11:00–15:00; closed on Sundays and public holidays.
