In one of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, a little girl climbs down a well. Down below, where everything looks identical to our world, she enters the service of Frau Holle, the mythical figure who makes it snow on our earth by beating and airing out the feather pillows. Down below is also up above. The switch between the two spheres is only natural.

Precisely this curious model of the world was evoked by the young artist Abdul Sharif Baruwa, who was until recently a student at Vienna’s Akademie der Bildenden Künste in the studio of Gunther Damisch. This was his first solo exhibition.

Both Marcus Geiger and Peter Kogler have made their mark through their approach to surfaces—whether by valuing them (Kogler, “Le Grand Récit,” Documenta 10, 1997) or devaluing them (Geiger, “100 Years of Secession,” Vienna Secession, 1998). Their joint exhibition “HALLO BAWAG” was a sensation, evoking sharp cries of excitement and happy sighs, like those of Sarah Jessica Parker at the sight of the latest Manolos. Indeed, the ethos of Sex and the City is not far removed: The Bawag Foundation is sited in the most fashionable part of Vienna, surrounded by trendy restaurants and designer boutiques.