THE PROJECT
For almost two centuries the Piatti family collected porcelain from China, Japan and Europe. The pieces were destroyed during the Second World War. To this day, the broken collection is kept in the ‘Shard Room’ in Loosdorf Castle and is accessible to the public.
The question of how to tell the story of the broken collection and how to make it possible to experience it in its current state opens up a field of tension between brokeness and the completeness, conservation and destruction. The FWF (Austrian Science Fund) PEEK project „Broken Collection“ at the University of Applied Arts Vienna aims to use artistic means to explore the limits and possibilities of art conservation and cultural history. The project runs from 2022 until 2026.
SUMMER EVENTS VIENNA X LOOSDORF
29.5 2026 17:30 – 19:00
Lights ON: An Exhibition & Panel Discussion
Understanding Artistic Research in practice: reflecting on 4 years of Artistic Research for the Broken Collection. All international Artists are present
Lichthof A (grau) (EG)
Oskar Kokoschka-Platz 2, 1010 Wien
30.5. -13.9. 2026
Completed x Contemporary
Resonances to the Broken Collection
Collective reflections on brokeness and fragmentation are translated into artworks, interventions, and performances that attune to the enigmatic “Shard Room” and propose fresh perspectives on a complex historical narrative. Rather than mourning what is lost, the works invite audiences to reconsider what brokenness means — as memorial, as material, and as opportunity.
The exhibition presents the results of four years of transdisciplinary collaboration between restoration, academia and contemporary art. With the participation of Christina Stadlbauer, Anne-Helen Mydland, Anne Xiradakis, Aureline Caltagirone, Bettina Zorn, Felix Schwentner, Graciela Faffelberger, Julia Geiszler, Julia Knappitsch, Laura Isselhorst, Lohan Blois, Lucie David, Sascha Zaitseva, Soah Kim. (more info here)
The exhibiton can be visited only after booking a tour. (find Infromation here)
Loosdorf Castle, 2133 Loosdorf (District Mistelbach)
