Artists in Residence 25
Chen-Hsiang Kao
*1997 in Taiwan, lives and works in Taiwan and Japan
MFA, Graduate Institute of Applied Arts, Tainan National University of the Arts
​
Chen-Hsiang’s practice centers on clay as his primary medium, fostering a unique emotional connection and perspective through long-term engagement with the material. By interacting directly with clay through the body, he challenges the hierarchical relationship between creator and material, revealing a symbiotic state of coexistence. His works address the interrelations between land, material, people, and nation, offering viewers a lens for reflecting on contemporary society while expanding the possibilities of ceramics and performance art.
​
During his residency in Austria, Chen-Hsiang used religion and faith as points of entry to observe and intervene in the local cultural context and social atmosphere. By juxtaposing Taiwanese religious rituals, historical symbols, and social realities within a Western framework, he reflects on the controlling and unifying forces that faith holds across different cultures. In this period, he created ceramic objects incorporating abundant Eastern and Western symbols, as well as three performance videos centered on futility, conflict, and cultural symbol transformation. Through the intertwining of action, ceramics, and moving image, his works form a cross-media narrative structure that responds to Taiwan’s unstable political climate and collective emotions.
Helena Sekot
*1996, Weinheim, Germany, lives and works in Linz, Austria
since 2022, Master at the University of Art and Design Linz, Sculptural Conceptions / Ceramics
​
In her artistic practice, Helena Sekot challenges materials to explore themes of permanence and transience. Her sculptural works in ceramic and glass often extend into sound, photography, and video, drawing from close observation of her natural surroundings.
At Gmundner Keramik, she is developing two sculptural series focused on peatlands. One traces the germination of sphagnum moss, the life-giving core of these ecosystems, while the other evokes a white, fossilized moss landscape, reflecting on the fragility and drying of peatlands in Austria and beyond. Together, the works invite new narratives of mysticism and connection, raising awareness for the need to rewet and restore these precious landscapes.
Maryna Talutto
*1982, Kyiv, Ukraine. Lives and works in Kyiv
Graduated from the Kyiv Academy of Arts and Architecture in the city of Kyiv.
Project “Simple Things”, Gmundner Keramik residency, 2025
The multimedia work Small Little Things consists of drawings and ceramic objects reminiscent of pottery vessels and references the tableware produced by Gmundner Keramik. Together with the drawings of everyday and domestic objects, it is about capturing the ordinary and thus the mental cohesion as a survival strategy for many women in the demanding war years.
Based on the work of Ukrainian artist, dissident, and activist Alla Horska in the 1960s, she creates a ceramic wall piece that references the mosaics destroyed in Mariupol during Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and, formally, Kazimir Malevich's work on the Holodomor.
​
We are planning to exhibit her works at Gmundner Keramik from February 2026, together with the results of three artists from Taiwan, Germany, and Austria who are currently working on site.
Charlotte Wiesmann
*1961 in Grafenau, Germany,
lives and works in Linz, Austria
Trained as a ceramist in Freising, Germany
Studied ceramics at the University of Art and Design Linz
Participation in symposia in Germany and abroad
-2025 Artist in Residency, Yingge Ceramic Museum, Taiwan
-2024 Artist in Residency, Unpack-Studio Havana, Cuba
Realization of art projects in public spaces
-2025 Upper Austria State Garden Show Schärding
2010 Ceramics Prize of the State of Salzburg
​
My artistic work encompasses ceramics and sculpture, installation, drawing, photography, and video. My art deals with space and its possibilities. It is about spaces for thought and movement. The art studio itself and the system of art and ceramic production are my themes. I try to explore the aspects of lightness, presence, and absence, searching for connections and the limits of what is possible.
​
The Artist in Residency program in Taiwan enabled me to continue my project work, which began in the Artist in Residency-Unpack Havana in Cuba in 2024.
Rosmarie Lukasser
*1981 in Lienz, Austria, lives and works in Vienna
​
Rosmarie Lukasser's work explores the structures and mechanisms of the digital world. However, her focus is not on hardware and software systems, data processing, and virtuality, but rather on the effects of intensive digital networking on human behavior, the body, and people's perception of themselves and others.