MQ Art Box
The MQ ART BOX in the Main Courtyard of MuseumsQuartier Wien features temporary installations by contemporary artists. The transparent art space interacts with the public realm. The exhibition program offers insights into contemporary artistic practices and fields of discourse.
daily 00:00-24:00h at the MQ Main Courtyard, free admission
PREVIEW
Anita Fuchs: Wiesenstück
Opening as part of VIENNA ART WEEK: Mi 12.11.2025, 18h
Since March 2023, artist Anita Fuchs has been working on a long-term artistic project on the forecourt of the MuseumsQuartier Wien as part of an invitation from the museum. A 250 m² lawn has been transformed into Versuchsfeld1 – a living experimental space and a place for process-oriented artistic and scientific research.
With a focus on biodiversity, sustainability and the visualisation of ecological relationships, the artist sees Versuchsfeld1 as a learning system that can be interpreted both ecologically and socially.
At the beginning of her artistic exploration of the piece of lawn entrusted to her, she had soil samples scientifically analysed in order to develop a seed mixture of native wild plants adapted to the conditions. Subsequently, the non-ecological turf was removed, the soil prepared and the seeds of over 50 plant species sown.
Since then, the development of the wildflower meadow Versuchsfeld1 has been accompanied by workshops, discussion events, artistic interventions and installations – both in the meadow itself and in the nearby MQ showroom, known as the Field Station.
With the exhibition in the MQ Art Box, the glass art space in the public area of the MuseumsQuartier, Versuchsfeld1 is now undergoing a formal and content-related consolidation: Anita Fuchs presents biogenic material – the yield of the wildflower meadow – as sculptural manifestations of her long-term project.
After mowing Versuchsfeld1 in July 2025, the artist sorted the different plant species. Over 30 different species had grown at that time and were dried in large bundles. This elaborate action culminates in a precise sculptural setting when Anita Fuchs installs the entire yield of the wild plant meadow in the MQ Art Box.
By transforming the harvested plants into a sculptural installation, Anita Fuchs not only presents the material yield of her long-term project, but also addresses the fundamental question of how artistic work dealing with ecological themes and natural processes becomes visible within an institutional framework. The transition from the living field to the art space marks a conscious shift: from the organic meadow to the aesthetic setting, from process to form. The installation allows visitors to experience not only the beauty of biodiversity, but also the fragility and complexity of ecological systems – and opens up a space for reflection on our relationship with nature in the context of contemporary art.
The experimental field1 is in direct dialogue with the sustainability programme MQ goes Green, which understands ecological issues, the greening of the area and artistic contributions as part of a comprehensive transformation process.
The exhibition highlights how nature asserts itself and changes in urban spaces – and how artistic thinking can contribute to the development of new forms of coexistence between people, cities and the environment.
Curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert
© Klaus Pichler