U.T. (After Kelly) - Georg Petermichl [Opening]

U.T. (After Kelly) - Georg Petermichl

Solo exhibition
Opening: October 7th, 7pm, 2026
Exhibition: October 8th – 23rd, 2026
Wed-Fri 3-6pm

Georg Petermichl’s fascination with Mike Kelley began with a moment of aversion. Petermichl stood in front of Kelley’s installation, ‘Lumpenprole’ from 1991, which, by coincidence, is roughly the same size as bb15’s exhibition space. Consisting of forty-eight stuffed animals gathered under a crocheted „afghan“ carpet, it is accompanied by eight wall pieces, including a repainted ÖVP campaign poster and seven scatological „lump“ drawings. Petermichl found the work repellent.

Over the years, these emotions never quite left. The work kept an ominous attraction, one that has continued to shape Petermichl’s practice, paradoxically, in positive ways. For this exhibition, Petermichl takes on this fascination, treating ‘Lumpenprole’ less as a work to be interpreted than as a text to be translated. Following the poet Ilya Kaminsky, a translation should be a window into another consciousness not a mirror reflecting what the viewer already expects. It should not explain a mystery, but rather deepen it. (...) 
Georg Petermichl (b. 1980, Linz) is an Austrian artist working across photography, film, and ceramics. His practice centres on family as a primary site of socialisation — examining photography's claim to truth, the dynamics of intimacy and trust, and the relationship between private archives and collective memory. Working across long-term photographic serie, film, and ceramic objects, he draws on close personal relationships to explore the ethics of visibility and display. Recent work includes the exhibition Universal Thoughts: Least Common Multiple at the Francisco Carolinum, Linz (2026) and the film Amature Enlightenment (2026), awarded the Diagonale Prize for Innovative Cinema by the City of Graz. https://georgpetermichl.com/
more information soon at bb15.at