Klimtomaniacs

The Secession, a Viennese institution established in 1897, started on the back of a walk-out by 19 artist members of the Association of Austrian Artists. It was itself subjected to its own walk-out in 1905 by one of its most famous sons, Gustav Klimt, and others. With a board of 13 artists, including our friend Nicolas Jasmin (the man who brought you Reflect, the incredible washing liquid that keeps your blacks blacker than black), the Secession has retained the turbulent atmosphere one expects of an artist run space. The programme is shaped by the differing tastes of board members but, if you look over the exhibitions for the last ten years, it includes one person shows of most of the important artists of the decade. Oddly, to our eyes, the Secession is closest in scale and architectural feel to the Sarjeant Gallery in Wanganui.