KunstBURG

The spa town of Gars, with its Babenberger Castle, has always been a magnet and source of inspiration for artists from around the world. With the 2025 vernissage, a new era begins in the historically significant castle: as part of the exclusive seasonal program KulturBURG, the additional program branch KunstBURG will in the future bring outstanding representatives of visual arts into the historic walls of the old Babenberger Castle. Its unique atmosphere and medieval charm merge with the aesthetic appeal of both classical and contemporary works of art, creating a fascinating harmony that perfectly complements opera, music, and literature. An artistic experience in an extraordinary location that inspires!

Opera BURG GARS KulturBURG KunstBURG EventBURG

KulturBURG

KunstBURG – HANNES MLENEK

Vernissage of the Werner Trenker Collection

April 26, 2026 | 5:00-7:00 PM
Grand Hall – Vernissage

CLEMENS UNTERREINER invites, together with art collector and entrepreneur WERNER TRENKER, to the ceremonial opening of the KunstBURG 2026. Look forward to impressive works by artist HANNES MLENEK from the HOMO HUMANUS collection, which will be on display from May to September throughout the entire festival season of the Opera BURG GARS in the historic grand hall.

Collection Werner Trenker

Werner Trenker founded the international medical products company MED TRUST in 1997. The family-owned company, headquartered in Marz in Burgenland, operates 12 branches across Europe and distributes its medical products through distributors in over 80 countries worldwide.

The products are sold under the Wellion brand and are recognized by their distinctive design, created by various visual artists.

MED TRUST has received numerous awards, including the Austrian Leading Companies Award in the category of internationally active companies, the Innovation Award of the State of Burgenland, and the Best Family Business in Burgenland Award. Werner Trenker was also honored as Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 in the Trade & Consumer Goods category.

For around 15 years, Trenker has been a passionate art collector. The Werner Trenker Collection includes renowned Austrian artists such as Hermann Nitsch, Arnulf Rainer, Markus Prachensky and many others. As an internationally active entrepreneur, Trenker embraces his social and cultural responsibility, primarily by supporting Austrian artists and actively promoting his collection through national and international exhibitions. Making the private Werner Trenker Collection accessible to the public is particularly important to him, as he wants to share the joy of art with others.

Among other initiatives, the work “Himmelsleiter” by the artist Billi Thanner, a symbol of peace, was donated to the Museum St. Peter an der Sperr as a permanent loan and now illuminates the deconsecrated church building in Wiener Neustadt. Thanks to generous loans from the Werner Trenker Collection, the museum was also able to host an extensive exhibition of Hermann Nitsch titled “Farbenwelt”. In cooperation with the Nitsch Foundation, the exhibition “Tribute of Colours” by Hermann Nitsch was realized in autumn 2024 at the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum in Bratislava.

In March 2025, the Künstlerhaus Wien hosted an exhibition of works by Hannes Mlenek titled “Medusa in the Mirror of Time – Reinterpretation”. In autumn 2025, the Werner Trenker Collection, in cooperation with Brigitte Prachensky, presented a retrospective of Markus Prachensky titled “A Painter’s Life in Red” at the Museum St. Peter an der Sperr, Wiener Neustadt. Further projects and exhibitions with other artists are already in planning.

Le Sacre, 2013
200 x 190 cm
Oil, acrylic, and sand on canvas
Artist Hannes Mlenek
Photo: Michael Nagl

Topography of the Body, 2011
160 x 160 cm
Oil and acrylic on canvas
Artist Hannes Mlenek
Photo: Michael Nagl

Artist Hannes Mlenek

Biography Hannes Mlenek

Hannes Mlenek was born in 1949 in Wiener Neustadt and currently lives in Vienna and Lower Austria. He studied as a guest student at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and has been working as a freelance artist since 1976.

His large-scale works combine painting with gestural drawing and are often executed in a palette of grays, whites and earth tones. In many of his pieces, the human body, usually in motion, is at the center of his dynamic compositional structures.

Mlenek has gained international recognition through impressive installations, such as “Transforming Walls” at the MuseumsQuartier Vienna and stage projects like “The Raft of the Medusa”.

His artworks are held in significant collections, including the Albertina, the Leopold Museum, the Lentos Art Museum, the Rupertinum in Salzburg and many other Austrian institutions.

KunstBURG

KulturBURG

KunstBURG – HANNES MLENEK

Vernissage of the Werner Trenker Collection

The office of Opera BURG GARS

Burg Gars

OPENING HOURS