People have been proclaiming the end of painting for over 100 years. Most recently there have been controversial debates on the meaningfulness and future of painting. Against this background, in spring 2014 the Essl Museum called on Austrian and Austria-based artists to apply for participation in the exhibition with their works. Painting as well as graphic art could be submitted. Out of 756 applications, the Essl Museums curatorial team led by Günther Oberhollenzer made a preliminary selection of some 50 artists, who were visited in their studios all over Austria. From this, 23 artistic positions were chosen for the exhibition. The diversity and quality of the artistic positions and also the impressive number of applications show that painting and graphic art still play an essential role in contemporary art.