For the fourth iteration of 17(joy), Jen Kratochvil has invited curator Ji-Yoon Han, who in turn has invited the collective Marion Lessard to take over the project space located at Schleifmühlgasse 17.

Opening: 4 December, 18:00

For the Viennese iteration of the video installation »Le Roman de Remort,« Marion Lessard transforms the gallery space into a lair visible from the street through a giant papier-mâché mouth. Through this »in situ« gaping hole, which fills and materialises the entire interstitial space of the window, passers-by are drawn to behold multiple reflections depending on the hour of the day or night: at times, they will catch sight of a film that revisits, reenacts, and diverts the medieval animal fables of »Le Roman de Renart (Reynard the Fox)« into our era of the Ultimate Carnival; at other times, they will face the emptiness of a depopulated screening room, a cavity open to all forms of fantastical projection; or again, they may catch their own image, trapped on the hyaline surface encircled by Remort’s throat. The exhibition invites viewers to explore the vibrant energies of carnival, masks, and puppetry; to embrace the dizzying mise-en-abyme of the Verb, so specific to human existence; and to make space for the »bite of conscience« which, today, seems to clamp every joy within its parenthetical brackets.

To extend this play of nested frames, Marion Lessard in turn invites artist Adriana Disman to join her on Friday, 5 December 2025, for a screening followed by a performative discussion.

SCREENINGS & CONVERSATION between Marion Lessard and Adriana Disman

Friday, 5 December 2025. The gallery is open from 16:00. Screening times at 16:00, 16:40, 19:00. The conversation starts at 17:30.

The artist-s dedicate this exhibition to the memory of their friend Gilles Blanchette, with whom they discussed art, death and laughter.

17(Joy) is supported by Lombardi—Kargl, Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (BMWKMS), and ERSTE Foundation. The fourth iteration receives additional support from Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Québec Government Office to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Header image: »Marion Lessard, Le Roman de Remort, ou les fabliaux inhumains et vilains de l’Ultime Carnaval«, 2023. film still.