#AustriaKultur Brussels Digital, Artist of March 2021
AVANTGARDE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: https://youtu.be/G3F8YbBWCK8

Foto: Lukas Dostal © Elisabeth Sula

In her highly contemplative fine art practice, Elisabeth Sula finds frequent inspiration in her previous studies in philosophy, with series that indirectly question ways of seeing and of understanding the connection between the self and society. Her paintings merge elements of metaphysical inquiry with spiritual exploration, drawn in part from her many years spent in India. Where earlier works were layered with Asian-inspired ornamental motifs, in Avant-garde of Consciousness, these graphic elements have been replaced by broad messages of self-affirmation. Collectively, these works form a chorus of pulsing color and declarative determination, a promise of the nourishment and uplift that come with the quest for self-knowledge.

Sula’s latest series began as a response to what she perceived as one-dimensional, fear-driven narratives about the Coronavirus pandemic being promoted by a number of influential sources. Seeking to complicate and expand the scope of such narratives, she urges a reframing of the virus as a symptom of our growing alienation both from the earth, whose resources we continue to plunder heedlessly, and from one another, as preoccupations with national and racial superiority increasingly threaten our sense of common humanity. Through her layered works, she aims to combat feelings of helplessness with a message of empowerment and self-actualization that extends far beyond this particular moment in time. Moving away from the virus itself as the dominant narrative, Sula looks to the wider history of challenges to humanity’s status quo, and considers what we can do to protect ourselves against such threats both physically and psychologically, as agents, not victims.

The overarching theme of Avant-garde of Consciousness, reinforced by the text imprinted on each canvas, is choice—specifically, the choice to embrace an attitude of acceptance over fear, to look inward rather than outward for the fundamental inspiration that drives our thoughts and actions. Of the eight paintings that compose the series, each detailing a different call to psychic action.

This work could not have come during a more fraught moment, characterized by a divisive political reckoning over longstanding inequalities and a public health crisis threatened by rampant individualism—all set against the backdrop of a global refugee crisis and environmental destruction at an unprecedented scale. Sula’s work offers a vision for the future that uplifts the individual but prioritizes a collective approach to self- examination and the actions that follow from it. If fear manifests as a type of unconsciousness, her work then is a call to consciousness that prioritizes conscientiousness, an open appeal that begins with the prescriptiveness of written text only to melt into a wash of abstract, interpretive color.

Elizabeth Breiner

Art Critic, February 2021

Waldhaus Zentrum, Lützelflüh, CH
Art Studio Sula, Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A

2017
Waldhaus Zentrum, Lützelflüh, CH
Art Studio Sula; Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A
Schlosstenne Wies am Schlossberg 16, 8551 Wies/A

2016
Art Studio Sula; Vienna/A
ÖBV; Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A

2015
ÖBV; Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A

2014
Böhler Edelstahl Hotel Kapfenberg/A
Designing & Presentation of  the Böhler Edelstahl Calendar 2015
Atelier Rothensteiner, Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A
Academy for Art, Allerheiligen/A

2013
Soulsisters, Vienna/A
Academy for Art, Allerheiligen/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A
Dentalklinik Sievering, Vienna/A

2012
Soulsisters, Vienna/A
Kunstverein Steyr, Schloss Lambert/A
Andechsgallery, Innsbruck/A
Academy for Art, Allerheiligen/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A

2011
Novomatic Forum, Vienna/A
Festival "We are Vienna", Vienna/A
Academy for Art, Allerheiligen/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A

2010
Syngroup, Vienna/A
SVA Gallery, Vienna/A
Gallery Kapfenberg/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A

2009
Symposium (Healing-) Art, Med. University, Vienna/A
Law Office Schopf & Zens, Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A
Gallery Selini, Zakynthos Town/GR
Viennese Private Clinic, Vienna/A
BAWAG, Bruck/Muhr/A

2008
BAWAG, Bruck/Mur/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A
Gallery Selini, Zakynthos Town/GR
Viennese Private Clinic, Vienna/A
Law Office  Kratochwill, Vienna/A

2007
Viennese Private Clinic, Vienna/A
Law Office  Kratochwill, Vienna/A
Agitas, Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A
Gallery Selini, Zakynthos Town/GR
L´Essence, Vienna/A

2006
Gallery Selini, Zakynthos/GR
Shambhala, Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Center Traiskirchen/A
L´Essence, Vienna/A

2005
Gallery Selini, Zakynthos/GR
Shambhala, Vienna/A
SIAK, Education Centre Traiskirchen/A

2004
SIAK, Education Centre Traiskirchen/A
Shambhala, Vienna/A
Museumsquarter, Vienna/A

2003
SOAK Gallery, Vienna/A
Art Helmer, Vienna/A

2002
Studio Morton, Vienna/A
Gallery Van Gogh Studio, Pune/India
OEBV-Atrium, Vienna/A (catalogue)
Unilog Integrata, Vienna/A

2001
IBM calendar 2001/A
Gallery Van Gogh Studio, Pune/India
Technology center Eisenstadt/A
Art Neuchrist, Vienna/A
Studio Morton, Vienna/A
Wintersalon, studio Proidl, Vienna/A

2000
Gallery Dr. Langenmayr, Munich/G
Altherm Engineering, Baden/A
Gallery G, Olmuetz/CZ
Aperto, Vienna/A
Art Neuchrist, Vienna/A
BAWAG, Vienna/A
Elin VA Tech, Vienna/A

1999
Art Huebner & Huebner, Vienna/A
Gallery Van Gogh Studio, Pune/India
Art Neuchrist, Vienna/A
Gallery Station 3, Vienna/A
Gallery Dr. Langenmayr, Munich/G

1998
Culture Association Favoriten, Vienna/A (catalogue)
Art Neuchrist, Vienna/A
Museum, Izmir/TR
Gallery Van Gogh Studio, Pune/India
Aperto, Vienna/A
Sabanci Culture Center, Istanbul/TR
Austrian Culture Institute, Istanbul/TR
University Kocaeli, Izmit, Türkei/TR
Primmersdorf Castle/A
Exhibition of the Letterpress Printing Graphic Design Portfolio, Ehrwald/A

1997
Gallery Van Gogh Studio, Pune/India
Art Neuchrist, Vienna/A
Zuerich Kosmos Gallery, Vienna/A
American Studio & Gallery, Regensburg/G

1996
Art Malus, Vienna/A
Art Neuchrist, Vienna/A
KUZ-Gallery, Kapfenberg/A
Gallery Andechshof, Innsbruck/A (catalogue)
Aperto, Vienna/A

1995
Gallery Gerulata, Bratislava/SK
RZB, Vienna/A (catalogue)
Gallery Alpha, Vienna/A
Art Forum Wolkersdorf Castle/A
Austrian Tobacco Museum, Vienna/A
St. Peter/Sperr, Wr. Neustadt/A (Video)
Aperto, Vienna/A

1994
Gallery Schillerplatz, Vienna/A
Gallery in the Belgian Quarter, Cologne/G
Art and Architecture, ATP, Vienna/A
Gallery Symphony Hills, Katsushika, Tokyo/Japan (catalogue)
Gallery Het Zwanepand, Antwerpen/NL
Gallery MAS, Hamburg/G
Gallery Station 3, Vienna/A
Intakt-Raum, Vienna/A

1993
Palazzo di San Michele, Rome/I
Intaktloft/Gallery Insam, Vienna/A
Intaktloft/Gallery Insam, Vienna/A (catalogue)
Firma Omnitel, Austrian Postsparkasse, Vienna/A

1992
Gallery Cybele, Paris/F (catalogue)
Bank Austria, Paris/F
Leiben Castle/A
Galerissimo, Salzburg/A
Monastery Und/A
Vindobona Private-Bank AG, Vienna/A
Gallery Anne-Marie Galland, Paris/F
Gallery Art Gruen, Vienna/A

1991
Gallery Berndorfer, Vienna/A
Traisenpavillon St.Poelten/A
Gallery Keil, Vienna/A
Gallery Carinthia, Vienna/A
Ballgasse 6, Vienna/A

1990
The 1st Kochi Internat. Triennial Exhibition of Prints/Japan
Premio Internazionale Biella per l'Incisione, Centro Incontri, Genoa/I

1988
BAWAG-Foundation, Vienna (catalogue)

1987
Monastery Altenburg/A
Raiffeisenbank, Vienna/A
Tangram, Vienna/A
Art Space, Vienna/A

1986
Gallery Vincent, Vienna/A
Photogallery Vienna/A
Gallery Medio, Kronsdorf/A
Gallery s'Presshaus, Herrnbaumgarten/A
Gallery Modena Art, Vienna/A

1985
Ma Pitom, Vienna/A
Painting, University of Applied Art, Vienna/A
Graphic Portfolio Tosa Washi, Museum of the 20. Century, Vienna/A

1983
University of Applied Art, Vienna/A
Gallery s'Presshaus, Herrnbaumgarten/A