Clemens Wolf Austria, b. 1981

At the core of Wolf's artistic practice lies a fascination with materials that carry traces of their previous existence. From abandoned industrial structures and weathered fences to discarded parachutes, he approaches objects marked by use, decay, and transformation as carriers of memory and potential. Through processes of appropriation and material experimentation, he transforms these remnants into visually compelling works that challenge conventional distinctions between painting, sculpture, and object.

Central to his recent practice are the Parachute Works, a series of paintings, sculptures, and reliefs created from decommissioned parachutes. As an experienced parachutist himself, Wolf brings a personal understanding of the material's physical and symbolic significance. Saturating the lightweight fabric with tinted epoxy resin, he carefully arranges its folds and contractions before allowing the material to harden. What was once flexible and transient becomes permanently fixed, preserving an otherwise irreproducible moment of movement.

The resulting works oscillate between two- and three-dimensional expression. Their luminous surfaces, vibrant colours, and organic structures evoke both painterly abstraction and sculptural presence. Delicate parachute cords introduce linear elements reminiscent of drawing, while the hardened folds create intricate topographies of light, shadow, and texture. For Wolf, the fold becomes a metaphor for the ephemeral: a visual record of a moment that can neither be repeated nor fully controlled.

The parachute itself carries a particular conceptual significance. Originally designed to negotiate gravity and ensure a safe descent, it embodies the tension between freedom and restraint, risk and protection, ascent and collapse. By transforming this functional object into an autonomous artwork, Wolf captures the paradox of movement suspended in stillness. His practice is guided by an interplay of intention and chance, allowing material processes to participate actively in the creation of each work.

Alongside the Parachute Works, Wolf has developed other experimental bodies of work, including his Expanded Metal Pigment Paintings and Remix series. Across these different approaches, he continues to investigate the possibilities of material transformation, the relationship between surface and structure, and the aesthetic potential of objects removed from their original context.

Wolf's international exhibition history includes solo exhibitions such as The Beauty of Emptiness at SUPPAN, Vienna (2026), When Air Holds Its Breath at the historic stables of the Kaiservilla, Bad Ischl (2026), Terrain at theStable, S-chanf, Switzerland (2025), Freefall at Palais Festetics, Vienna (2024), REMIX – Material Archeology at SANATORIUM, Istanbul (2023), and Can't Touch This at Backslash Gallery, Paris (2020). His work has also been presented in important institutional exhibitions, including Im Erweiterten Raum at Künstlerhaus Wien (2026), Rendezvous mit der Sammlung at Landesgalerie Niederösterreich, Krems (2022), Gold at the Belvedere, Vienna (2012), LIKE IT! at the Essl Museum, Klosterneuburg (2013), and In Between – Austria Contemporary at the National Art Museum of China during the 4th Beijing Biennale (2010).

Further international presentations include the Danube Biennale at the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Slovakia (2009 and 2015), and exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius, the Rezan Has Museum in Istanbul, and the Leopold Museum in Vienna. Upcoming institutional presentations include Don't touch! – Kunst berührt at Forum Frohner, Krems (2026–2027), and Trama e ordito at Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, Milan (2026–2027).

His works are held in significant public and private collections, including the Albertina, Vienna; the STRABAG Art Collection; the Essl Collection; the Artothek des Bundes; the Kollitsch Collection; and the Sammlung Anderl Weber. In 2011, Wolf received a recognition award as part of the Anton Faistauer Prize for Painting.

Through his distinctive engagement with materiality, gravity, and transformation, Wolf creates works that make the transient tangible. By preserving the unpredictable gestures of fabric and movement, he transforms objects associated with function and impermanence into enduring expressions of fragility, memory, and change.