Vienna State Opera unveils posthumous Herbert Brandl ‘Iron Curtain’

The Vienna State Opera will transform its vast stage curtain into a work by the late Austrian artist Herbert Brandl for the 2026/27 season, continuing a nearly three-decade tradition that has brought works by some of the world’s leading contemporary artists into the opera house.

Brandl had been commissioned for the project around two years ago and had already begun working on it before his sudden death in July 2026. Following his death, the international jury that selected him — Daniel Birnbaum, Bice Curiger and Hans-Ulrich Obrist — decided together with museum in progress, Brandl’s estate and the Vienna State Opera to proceed with the commission.

The work becomes the 29th instalment of Iron Curtain, an exhibition series created by museum in progress and realised in collaboration with the Vienna State Opera and Bundestheater-Holding since 1998.

Each season, an artwork measuring 176 square metres is installed on the opera house’s fire-resistant safety curtain, turning the main stage into an exhibition space. Audiences can see it before and after performances and during intervals.

Brandl, whose work moves between abstraction and figuration and is known for its intense colour and atmospheric quality, represented Austria at the Venice Biennale in 2007. He also participated in documenta in 1992 and the São Paulo Biennial in 1989, and his works are held in collections including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Albertina in Vienna and Kunsthaus Zürich.

Over nearly three decades, Iron Curtain has featured artists including Kara Walker, Jeff Koons, Cy Twombly, David Hockney, Joan Jonas, John Baldessari, Anselm Kiefer, Pipilotti Rist and El Anatsui.

Brandl’s work will now join that sequence as a posthumous final contribution to one of the Vienna State Opera’s most distinctive encounters between contemporary art and opera.