Mario Kiesenhofer's work deals with the dispositive of photography and how it sharpens the view onto realities that are not perceived as such. He maps surfaces and addresses the constitution of social spaces and landscapes used for intimate encounters and sexual interactions by the gay community. How are these queer safe spaces formed, where do they emerge, and how do they change? With these questions in mind, Kiesenhofer focuses on in-between spaces, following Foucault's concept of heterotopia. He explores these ephemeral spaces with his camera, creating photographic objects and video installations that blur realities.
Mario Kiesenhofer lives and works in Vienna and is represented by Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art in New York. Kiesenhofer studied Photography and Video Art under the guidance of Matthias Herrmann and Dorit Margreiter at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. His works have been shown in London (Austrian Cultural Forum), Tokyo (A- Gallery), Poland (BWA Gallery, Tarnów) and at the Vienna Museum (among others). He is a co-founder of STREULICHT – a publication series on photography & related arts. The Austrian Federal Government granted him a 3-months scholarship for Artistic Photography in New York City in 2018 (as part of the International Studio & Curatorial Program) and a 6-months scholarship for Artistic Photography in 2015. He was a finalist for the Wolf Suschitzky Photography Price in 2018 and received a special mention. In 2020 Kiesenhofer was awarded a special mention by the expert jury at the Portfolio Review at Fotomuseum Winterthur.
INSTAGRAM
@mario_kies
NEWSLETTER
click to download CV as PDF
PRESS REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS – PRINT
click to download press reports and publications as PDF [DE]
INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES – ONLINE
Die Presse Schaufenster, December 13th 2018
Bilder, die bleiben
Take Festival – April 20th, 2017
Provokant ist es heute etwas vorzuenthalten
The Gap – December 13th, 2016
Die 20 interessantesten FotografInnen Österreichs
studio(at)mariokiesenhofer.com
COMMISSIONED WORK
To view my applied work, please visit: www.bureaukies.com
Studio View
Shifting Queer Topographies
as part of Foto Wien
April 2019, Vienna