Presentation of the new edition of Gmundner Keramik at the artists' dinner at the MAK
On 13 November 2025, the MAK and the MAK Art Society (MARS) hosted an artists' dinner in the museum's festively staged columned hall in Vienna. The evening was not only dedicated to the upcoming major project - the new Vienna 1900 Permanent Collection curated by Markus Schinwald, which will open on 24 February 2026 - but also paid tribute to the lively encounter between art and applied design that has always characterised the MAK.
One highlight was the presentation of the new MAK × Gmundner Keramik × Markus Schinwald edition, which was created especially for the dinner. With this edition, the traditional manufacturer Gmundner Keramik is continuing its long history of artistic collaborations and at the same time bringing them into the present. Each plate was painted by hand, each brushstroke is unique, no two pieces are the same. And it is precisely this individuality that makes the edition a desirable collector's item. "We are delighted to be able to appeal to both collectors and art enthusiasts with this new edition and to continue the combination of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design," emphasises Alexander Köck, authorised signatory of Gmundner Keramik Manufaktur.
ABOUT THE DESIGNER...
Markus Schinwald (* 1973 in Salzburg) is an Austrian artist who lives in Vienna and New York. His interdisciplinary practice encompasses painting, sculpture, film, performance, photography and installation. His work centres on the human body as a cultural construct: he adds strange apparatuses such as masks, bandages or wires to portraits, creating an ambivalent tension. His rooms feel theatrical and at the same time uncanny, often with dolls or pieces of furniture that seem almost alive. Schinwald represents Austria at the Biennale and is represented in important collections.
Markus Schinwald's design for the crockery makes direct reference to a historical piece from the MAK collection: a saucer designed by Josef Hoffmann. Hoffmann, one of the most influential architects and designers of Viennese Modernism and co-founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, developed tableware series around 1900 that were characterised by geometric rigour, clear lines and a consistent departure from the floral Art Nouveau style. His choice of materials - fine porcelain, silver and glass - and his collaboration with renowned manufacturers made his works icons of early Art Deco and collector's items that are still sought-after today.
By taking up Hoffmann's geometric design language and at the same time incorporating a contemporary artistic signature, Schinwald has created an edition that combines the historical spirit of Viennese Modernism with today's view of design. It is complemented by a new tablecloth edition, for which Schinwald reinterprets motifs by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.
The evening was hosted by MAK General Director Lilli Hollein, Gregor Murth, Managing Director of the MAK, and Martin Böhm, President of MARS, and was attended by over 230 personalities from the worlds of art, culture, business and society. According to Lilli Hollein, the artists' dinners are an "appropriate fundraising format, characterised by great proximity to art and creative details that give the guests at the tables a special evening". The proceeds from the editions and the evening itself will benefit the museum's work.
The new tableware edition from Gmundner Keramik was an impressive demonstration of this attitude: a dialogue between tradition and the present, between craftsmanship and art - and a worthy prelude to the forthcoming reopening of Wien 1900.
SPECIAL EDITION
The strictly limited special edition is on display for sale in the Gmundner Keramik stores in Gmunden, Vienna and Anif.
12-piece MAK × Gmundner Keramik × Markus Schinwald plate special edition 2025
Contents:
6 place plates (32 cm)
6 dessert plates (20 cm)
Price: 1.000 €
Pictures: © Andreas Tischler
