Zaida Violan Discusses Vivian Suter, Salvador Aris Legacy, and Auction Highlights in WELTKUNST Questionnaire

Key facts

• Zaida Violan is a Berlin-based communications consultant for contemporary art, specializing in philanthropy, grantmaking, and social investment.
• Violan grew up with works by Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, and Joan Brossa, and admires Louise Bourgeois, Beatriz González, Miriam Cahn, Marlene Dumas, Doris Salcedo, and Andrea Fraser.
• Antoni Miralda's "Honeymoon Project" (1986–1992) involved a symbolic marriage between the Statue of Liberty and the Columbus Monument, with participants in over 20 cities.
• Violan recently met painter Vivian Suter and has been invited to her home at the edge of Lago Atitlán.
• She praised retrospectives of Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern and Steina at Haus der Kunst, noting their 1970s New York performance and video art context.
• Violan recovered and repurchased the lost estate of her grandfather, painter Salvador Aris; most works were found in a Red Cross basement after 30 years.
• Christopher Kulendran Thomas's "The Finesse" (2022) at KW Berlin combines Tamil independence archival material with AI deepfake avatars of Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian.
• Auction results: Eddy Varekamp print sold for $500 at Swann; Max Beckmann painting sold for €156,000 at Nagel; Sonia Delaunay brooch sold for €6,500 at Quittenbaum.