Gerald Zahn (1971) graduated from the University of Vienna with a degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Pedagogic and Science of Communication. Also he holds a diploma in Multimedia design and works in Vienna as a media and video artist. Side by side, he is working in services for persons with learning disabilities or a mental illness.
His artistic work integrates different media and is often presented in a form of abstract collections, which focus on the detection of hidden, but prevalent standards and discovering their absurd and humorous forms. For several years now he has been exploring narrative-deconstructing film techniques such as using photography rather than conventional film footage or letting the story unfold in a series of static takes.
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Nach den Studien Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie, Pädagogik und Kommunikationswissenschaften an der Universität Wien sowie einer Ausbildung zum Multimedia Designer, arbeitet Gerald Zahn (1971) als Medien- und Video Künstler in Wien wo er ebenso Menschen mit psychischen Erkrankungen betreut und beratet.
Die medienübergreifenden Arbeiten, die er gerne in Form von abstrakten Sammlungen präsentiert, fokussieren auf das Aufspüren von versteckten, jedoch allgegenwärtigen Normen deren absurde und humorvolle Ausformungen er erforscht.
Für einige Jahre beschäftigte er sich mit narrativ-dekonstruierenden Filmtechniken wie dem Fotofilm, bei denen er statische Fotografien anstelle von herkömmlichem Filmmaterial verwendet oder das Geschehen auf eine Serie weniger statischen Einstellung reduziert.
Catalogues:
2022: Ibrida intermedia art festival, Italy | 2021: Künstlerhaus, Austria / Internationales Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart, Germany | 2020: Kasseler Dokfest, Germany / Filmfest Dresden, Germany / Short Waves Festival, Poland | 2019: VAFT, Finland / VIDEOFORMES, France / Porn Film Festival Vienna, Austria / Kurzfilmwoche, Germany / Zeitimpuls shortfilm festival, Austria | 2018: EMAF European Media Art Festival, Germany / LISFE, Netherlands / Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt, Germany / Diagonale Filmfestival, Austria / 2017: Kassel Dokfest, Germany / Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Germany | 2016: UNERHÖRT music film festival, Germany | 2015: Kunstgastgeber – KÖR, Austria | 2014: EVA Experimental Video Art Exhibition, Germany / Crossbreeds, Austria / FLUSS, Austria | 2013: REDCAT contemporary arts center, USA / FIFE International Environmental Film Festival, France | 2012: Cannes Court Métrage , France / Dorotheum Caritas Benefiz, Austria / Filmfest München, Germany / Kratkofil international film festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2011: Bio:Fiction – Science, Art & Film Festival, Museum of Natural History Vienna, Austria / European Media Art Festival Osnabrück, Germany | 2010: Fullframefestival, Austria / Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn & Taxis, Austria / Monat der Fotografie Wien, Austria / MIR festival – about gallery Athens, Greece | 2009: Diagonale Filmfestival, Austria / Die Zelle, ISBN 978-3-902748-00-3 Austria / VIS film festival, Austria / Filmfestival Münster, Germany | 2008: Diagonale Filmfestival, Austria / VIS film festival, Austria | 2007: Diagonale Filmfestival, Austria / Future Cinema, „86400 Bilder pro Stunde“, Austria / VIS Vienna Independent Shorts film festival, Austria | 2005: Videodance Festival, Greek | 2004: Diagonale Filmfestival, Austria
Exhibitions and Film Festivals (selection):
2024 – 2026
creative time out
2023
UNDER_the_RADAR Festival & Conference for Experimental Media (Vienna | Austria)
L’hybride– international short film festival (Lille | France)
BILDRAUM 07 – Woman in green – video in collaboration with Nika Kupyrova (Vienna | Austria)
2022
Slow Wave Festival (Austria & Argentina)
Boreal Screendance Festival (Iceland)
Ibrida intermedia art festival (Italy)
BACC – Bangkok Art And Culture Centre | Contemporary Video Art Exhibition (Bangkok | Thailand)
Courts Mais Trash – international short film festival (Brussels | Belgium)
2021
Porn Film Festival Berlin (Berlin | Germany)
Künstlerhaus – Vermischung (Vienna | Austria)
Shortwaves Festival (Poznań | Poland)
Internationales Trickfilm-Festival Stuttgart (Stuttgart | Germany)
2020
Kasseler Dokumentarfilm- und Videofest (Kassel | Germany)
kaffeenistik to go– institute for transacoustic research (Vienna | Austria)
regnōsis curated by Eleni Angastiniotou and Lefki Savvidou (online exhibition)
Porn Film Festival Vienna (Vienna | Austria)
Filmfest Dresden – International Short Film Festival (Dresden | Germany)
Short Waves Festival (Poznań | Poland)
A difficult weekend – Hoast (Vienna | Austria)
2019
Your delicious dreaming – Salon Goldschlag (Vienna | Austria)
Deep Horizon – the Culture of Forecasting – Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz (Vienna | Austria)
VAFT – Video Art Festival (Turku | Finland)
PARALLEL VIENNA – Art Fair (Vienna | Austria)
Internationale Kurzfilmwoche Regensburg (Regensburg | Germany)
2 Days Animation Festival (Vienna | Austria)
Ibrida Festival, Italy
Where are we now? – 30 Jahre FLUSS (Schloss Wolkersdorf | Austria)
UNDER_the_RADAR (Vienna | Austria)
Notgalerie (Vienna | Austria)
XPOSED FILM FESTIVAL (Berlin | Germany)
Zeitimpuls shortfilm festival (Vienna | Austria)
VIDEOFORMES (Clermont-Ferrand | France)
FOTO – group exhibition (Vienna | Austria)
Porn Film Festival Vienna (Vienna| Austria)
2018
2 DAYS ANIMATION FESTIVAL (Vienna | Austria)
PÖFF Shorts – Black Nights Film Festival (Tallinn | Estonia)
Connection – Dni Austrii (Danzig | Poland)
VIDEOMEDEJA (Novi Sad | Serbia)
EMAF European Media Art Festival (Osnabrück | Germany)
Nomination for the HUBER SIELECKI AWARD (Vienna | Austria)
LISFE (Leiden | Netherlands)
Diagonale Filmfestival – screening The Gallery (Graz | Austria)
LICHTER FILMFEST – Die Galerie is nominated for the LICHTER ART AWARD (Frankfurt | Germany)
DREISECHSFUENF Festival (Vienna | Austria)
RAUMSTATION (Viennal | Austria)
2017
Kassel Dokfest – Documentary Film and Video Festival | The Gallery – Premiere screening (Kassel | Germany)
Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival – East Silver Market selection (Jihlava | Czech Republic)
Experimental Video Art Exhibition | BACC – Bangkok Art And Culture Centre (Bangkok | Thailand)
Experimental Video Art Exhibition | Schaumbad – Freies Atelierhaus Graz (Graz | Austria)
Robert and the never ending tour – film screening (Lübeck | Germany)
Stuttgarter Filmwinter – Festival for Film and Expanded Media (Stuttgart | Germany)
2016
ARTos Cultural and Research Foundation | Artists Residency (Nicosia | Cyprus)
Robert and the never ending tour | Eiszeit Kino (Berlin | Germany)
ONE TAKE FILM FESTIVAL (Zagreb | Croatia)
UNERHÖRT music film festival | B-Movie (Hamburg | Germany)
zeitimpuls shortfilmfestival – first price | METRO Kinokulturhaus (Vienna | Austria)
VIS VIENNA INDEPENDENT SHORTS | Stadtkino im Künstlerhaus (Vienna | Austria)
Herbstfestival Neubau (Vienna | Austria)
Street Cinema Graz | Kurzfilmwanderung N°6 (Graz | Austria)
2015
Video of the month | das weisse haus (Vienna | Austria)
S+U+B+P+O+P | The Habsburgerapartment (Vienna | Austria)
Musik & Fotografie | Schloss Wolkerdorf, Galerie 2 (Wolkerdorf | Austria)
EVA – Experimental Video art exhibition | various venues (Bangkok | Thailand)
Fucking Andy, Eden, Techno, Disco | mo.ë contemporary (Vienna | Austria)
Xwra Video and Media Art Festival, (Ipati | Greece)
Körper_Bilder | PHOTO.KUNST.RAUM. Zentrum für Fotografie (Hamburg | Germany)
T-Shirt edition for Twelve by Fifteen. Visit Twelve by Fifteen site and shop.
2014
Das EINE | eyes on / Monat der Fotografie | mo.ë (Vienna | Austria)
2014 – 6 KO_OP Salon 69 | basement (Vienna | Austria)
Adult Swim / Off The Air „Hair“ / Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. A Time Warner Company (USA)
Kunstgastgeber | KÖR / Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (Vienna | Austria)
Rezeption / Electric Avenue / Museums Quartier (Vienna | Austria)
KittyCorner „be my guest“ (Vienna | Austria)
Experimental Video Art Exhibition | BACC (Bangkok | Thailand)
Salotto.Vienna – Wiener Kunstsalon (Trieste | Italy)
Crossbreeds | Im_flieger (Vienna | Austria)
EUROPEAN MEDIA ART FESTIVAL | EMAF (Osnabrück | Germany)
25 Jahre FLUSS exhibition & catalogue | Schloss Wolkerdorf (Wolkersdorf | Austria)
Experimental Video Art Exhibition | Moltkerei Werkstatt (Cologne | Germany)
RUF AN ! published in Huellkurven, an online sound poetry magazine (Austria)
2013
ON THE ROAD / NÖ Dokumentationszentrum für Moderne Kunst (St. Pölten | Austria)
FIFE International Environmental Film Festival (Paris | France)
A little bit of history deleting … / Galerie Peithner-Lichtenfels (Vienna | Austria)
REDCAT International Children’s Film Festival (Los Angeles | USA)
VIENNA ARTWEEK – Open studio day (Vienna | Austria)
Experimental Video Art Exhibition – Various Locations (Thailand)
Der Sprung ins Leere / REHEAT Multidisziplinäres Festival (Kleylehof | Austria)
Back to Athens – Great Balls of Austria / Camp (Athens | Greece)
India of the Maharajas / Renaissanceschloss Schallaburg (Schallaburg | Austria)
60 seconds in a minute / NTK (Prague | Czech Republic)
Slow down / flat1 (Vienna | Austria)
Silently – Short underwater movie festival Belgrade (Belgrade | Serbia)
Shortlisted for the „School Of Happiness“ VIENNAFAIR award (Vienna | Austria)
CinemAmbiente Environmental Film Festival / Museo Nazionale del Cinema (Torino | Italy)
quEAR! – Das Transtonale Ohrenfest – Audio Festival | Zukunft am Ostkreuz (Berlin | Germany)
Festival Miden screening in Calliope Artspace | (Chios | Greece)
Children’s Film Festival Seattle (Seattle | USA)
2012
Filmfest München (Munich / Germany)
Cannes Court Métrage / Short Film Corner (Cannes / France)
Kratkofil Plus international film festival (Banja Luka / Bosnia Herzegovina)
Rapid Pulse international performance art festival – Defibrillator Gallery (Chicago / USA)
Psyennale Filmfestival (Vienna / Austria)
Palais Dorotheum – Benefizauktion zugunsten des Mobilen Hospiz der Caritas (Vienna / Austria)
CologneOFF VII – video art in global context – Curated Contributions CeC 2012 Festival (Sattal / India)
100 Jahre votiv kino – award (Vienna / Austria)
Galerie Marenzi – Aktuelle Positionen der Fotokunst aus dem Umfeld von FLUSS (Leibnitz / Austria)
Video Art Festival Miden (Kalamata / Greece)
Stillstand und Beschleunigung – Ausarten (Vienna / Austria)
Oktoskop – selected video works by Gerald Zahn and an interview with Amina Handke (okto TV)
photo graz_010 – Die aktuelle steirische Fotoszene, Österreichisches Kulturforum (Zagreb / Croatia)
Barbara Rett had started her new blog with an image of a toy TV set from my video „Gute Nacht, Barbara Rett verabschiedet sich“ www.mitbestenempfehlungen.com
KMET – shoot me, Cover photo, KONKORD 055 (Hoanzl / Broken Silence)
2011
EVA 8 – Experimental Video Art Exhibition (Bangkok / Thailand)
METAmART – Künstlerhaus k/haus (Vienna / Austria)
Farbrausch – VOLXkino (Vienna / Austria)
Farbrausch – OKTO TV
24. EUROPEAN MEDIA ART FESTIVAL (Osnabrück / Germany)
Bio:Fiction – Science, Art and Film Festival – Naturhistorisches Museum (Vienna / Austria)
Nuit Blanche / Love video 2011 – Les Salaisons (Paris / France)
Synthesis: synthetic biology in art & society – The Arts Catalyst – AV Hill Lecture Theatre (London / UK)
Love video 2011 – Brigade des Images – Center of Contemporary Art (Tbilisi / Georgia)
113 Dalston Lane / Love video 2011 (London / UK)
CologneOFF 2011 – Arad Art Museum (Arad / Romania)
Kortfilm festival 2011 – Metro Station (Copenhagen / Denmark)
x-filed – flat1 (Vienna / Austria)
A Tribute to Contemporary Austrian Photography – gallery m55 projects (Athens / Greece)
2010
Leidenschaft wird überbewertet – Elektro Gönner (Vienna / Austria)
Gaming the System – Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn und Taxis (Bregenz / Austria)
Fullframe Festival – Gartenbaukino (Vienna / Austria)
Crosstalk video art festival (Budapest / Hungary)
ARTmART – Künstlerhaus (Vienna / Austria)
MIR festival – about gallery (Athens / Greece)
Kino am Dach (www.vorfilm.at)
VIS / Screensessions (Vienna / Austria)
photo graz_010 – stadtmuseumgraz (Graz / Austria)
Goethe-Institut Thailand (Bangkok / Thailand)
Sauna – brut Konzerthaus (Vienna / Austria)
Fundada Artist’s Film Festival (Halifax / UK)
Salon XV – Eyes On – Monat der Fotografie Wien (Vienna / Austria)
Club Mindfuck #2 – AUSARTEN[ ] (Vienna / Austria)
Reheat Festival (Nickelsdorf / Austria)
Jennyfair – Die Ausstellungsstrasse (Vienna / Austria)
Wir leben und arbeiten in Wien – Gallery AREA 53 (Vienna / Austria)
Ruf an! – winning project of the IG Bildenende Kunst art contest – Poolbar Festival (Feldkirch / Austria)
2009
Diagonale film festival (Graz / Austria)
MESSERLOEFFELGABEL (for Desktop Design)
Music video for LOKAI „transition“ CD (Thrill Jokey – thrill 219)
Ö1 Diagonal – Interview about „frequently asked questions“, „Hairy Monsters“ (Radio ORF / Ö1)
ViennArt – MUSA (Vienna / Austria)
VIS film festival (Vienna / Austria)
20 Jahre FLUSS – Schloss Wolkersdorf / Galerie 2 (Wolkersdorf / Austria)
Youki media festival – (Wels / Austria)
Managing the project space u. artist residency Schauraum (2008 – 2009)
3Sat Kulturzeit – featuring „Hairy Monsters“ film (TV 3Sat)
Filmfestival Münster – (Münster / Germany)
Screensessions film festival (Vienna / Austria)
2008
Froh zu sein bedarf es wenig und wer froh ist, ist ein König eine Katze – Schauraum (Vienna / Austria)
ZELLE – Altes Wasser Güte Amt (Vienna / Austria)
The Trojan Horses – Glockengasse 9 (Vienna / Austria)
Diagonale film festival (Graz / Austria)
Sauna 08 – brut Konzerthaus (Vienna / Austria)
ViennArt – MUSA (Vienna / Austria)
VIS film festival (Vienna / Austria)
Ohne Absicht / Without Intent – by Verena Brückner / Participation, MAK (Vienna / Austria)
ARTmART – Künstlerhaus (Vienna / Austria)
2007
Reich und Schön müssen leider draussen bleiben – FIELD (Berlin / Germany)
Order Rain – Music video & art work for KMET „Electric Songs“ CD released by Konkord Records
Diagonale film festival (Graz / Austria)
International Videovestival Bochum (Bochum / Germany)
VIS Vienna Independent Shorts film festival (Vienna / Austria)
New Directors‘ Lounge – Independent Cinema (Vienna / Austria)
SÍM Association of Icelandic Visual Artists, invitation as artist in residence (Reykjavík / Iceland)
Afsakið, ég virðist hafa týnt nálinni minni í þessum heystakk – SÍM (Reykjavík / Iceland)
M-ARS – supermarket for contemporary art (Vienna / Austria)
Fragmented Reassembled – video in urban spaces (Linz / Austria)
Crossbreads – WUK (Vienna / Austria)
2006
Economy Class – Alliance Francaise (Kenya / Africa)
Digital fine art prints – artbits gallery (Vienna / Austria)
Screensessions film festival (Vienna / Austria)
sidewalkcinema (Vienna / Austria)
Desktop-Design – design trade fair BLICKFANG; MAK (Vienna / Austria)
Sauna – dietheater Konzerthaus (Vienna / Austria)
The failed show – Kforumvienna (Vienna / Austria)
VAIA 06 Festival (Alcoi / Spain)
2005
Reizend – artbits gallery (Vienna / Austria)
Party People – Kforumvienna (Vienna / Austria)
Jumpcut festival, Kabelwerk (Vienna / Austria)
Luogocomune – installation / performance in public space (Casale Maritimo / Italy)
VideoDance Festival (Athens and Thessaloniki / Greece)
Im_flieger – WUK (Vienna / Austria)
Ohne Kohle filmfestival (Vienna / Austria)
art position (Vienna / Austria)
poolbar Festival (Feldkirch / Austria)
Club Interdisziplinär – Museumsquartier (Vienna / Austria)
In einem Supermarkt – radioFM4 remastered a production by Gerald Zahn
2004
legal/illegal – Kforumvienna / WUK (Vienna / Austria)
Act de Identitate – Theater Timisoara (Timisoara / Romania)
Diagonale filmfestival (Graz / Austria)
Verklebt performance – Fluc (Vienna / Austria)
2003
Fast Film – by Virgil Widrich, Animation in „Fast Film“, camera for the „making of“ www.widrichfilm.com
2002
Baby you can drive my car – Schikaneder (Vienna / Austria)
Als die Woche noch 7 Tage hatte – Kaunitz (Vienna / Austria)