Free admission
From early December 2026 through mid-February 2027, TONSPUR Kunstverein Wien will present Thomas Feuerstein, one of the most prominent figures in Austrian media art, at its showroom in the MQ Wien. A preview will take place on December 1 as part of the “Spaces of Encounter” exhibition series.
Under the title “ACT,” the recipient of the 2019 Austrian Art Prize for Media Art will present the installation “VERBALE.CONDENSER PHONE,” which will be on view in Vienna for the first time. Coinciding with the exhibition, a 12-inch maxi single produced by Thomas Feuerstein and Georg Weckwerth will be released, featuring a recording of the text “I/C”—written and narrated by Heinrich Dunst for the exhibition—with cover artwork by Thomas Feuerstein (Edition 6 + 9 AE).
The central element of “VERBALE.CONDENSER PHONE” is a conventional speech microphone mounted on a microphone stand. The microphone is connected to what is known as a recirculating thermostat. Words condense on the cold metal of the microphone and freeze into ice crystals. The more one speaks, the more moist breath escapes into the room, causing the “speech sculpture” to grow. The layer of ice grows with every sentence—until it reaches the dew point, at which point droplets form and the moisture in the breath evaporates.
The 2010 installation “VERBALE.CONDENSER PHONE,” which epitomizes the medium of sound yet produces no sound, fits perfectly into the concept of the TONSPUR_display. Since 2022, the wedge-shaped, non-accessible exhibition space has been showcasing works that represent or explore the concept of sound in a very broad sense, yet are themselves silent. The exhibition space thus expands upon the well-known sound presentations of the TONSPUR_passage by incorporating the aspect of imagination, which is significant for sound and media art.
Thomas Feuerstein, born in 1968 in Innsbruck, Austria, lives and works in Innsbruck and Vienna.
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