Vienna's art scene thrives with fairs and festivals despite challenges
Vienna has positioned itself as a significant center for art in Europe, largely thanks to the Vienna Contemporary and Curated By festivals. The seventh edition of Vienna Contemporary, which spun off from Vienna Fair in 2015, faced challenges in 2021, marked by a limited venue and participation from only 25 galleries. Conversely, the Spark Art Fair, initiated by Renger van den Heuvel in June 2021, offered fresh and innovative presentations. The 13th Curated By edition showcased collaborations between galleries and external curators, centered around the theme 'Comedy.' Highlights included Francesco Tenaglia's 'eureka!' at Vin Vin, Sarah Johanna Theurer's 'Tricksters' by Gianni Manhattan, and works from emerging galleries like Wonnerth-Dejaco featuring Katharina Hoglinger, along with Russian artists P. Pepperstein and Liza Bobkova/Nikita Seleznev.
Key facts
- Vienna Contemporary's 2021 edition was held at Alte Post, a building under renovation with scaffolding and reduced spaces.
- Only 25 galleries participated in Vienna Contemporary 2021, a significant reduction from previous editions.
- Spark Art Fair launched in June 2021 under director Renger van den Heuvel, featuring three sections: international art, post-war art, and new media art.
- The Curated By festival reached its 13th edition in 2021, with the theme 'Comedy'.
- Hubert Winter gallery celebrated 50 years of activity in 2021.
- Wonnerth-Dejaco gallery opened in 2020 during the pandemic and now represents artists like Philipp Fleischmann (at 34th Bienal de São Paulo) and Phanos Kyriacou (represented Cyprus at 55th Venice Biennale).
- Iragui gallery from Moscow presented works by P. Pepperstein.
- Myth Gallery from St. Petersburg showed Liza Bobkova and Nikita Seleznev.
Entities
Artists
- Katharina Hoglinger
- Philipp Fleischmann
- Phanos Kyriacou
- Nadia Guarroui
- Olivia Coeln
- P. Pepperstein
- Liza Bobkova
- Nikita Seleznev
- Isabella Costabile
- Frieda Toranzo Jaeger
- J. Parker Valentine
- Shaun Motsi
- Zac Langdon-Pole
- Robert Breer
- Neila Czermak Ichti
- Alessandro Piangiamore
- Charbel-Joseph H. Boutros
- Stephanie Saadé
- Zuzanna Czebatul
- Jesse Darling
- Reba Maybury
- Ebecho Muslimova
- Liesl Raff
- Melanie Jame Wolf
- Agnieszka Polska
- Eleanor Antin
- Aria Dean
- Jimmie Durham
- Emilio Prini
- Hamishi Farah
- Timm Urlichs
Institutions
- Vienna Contemporary
- Vienna Fair
- Spark Art Fair
- Curated By
- Alte Post
- Wonnerth-Dejaco
- Georg Karl Fine Arts
- Iragui
- Myth Gallery
- Vin Vin
- Gianni Manhattan
- Hubert Winter
- Sophie Tappeiner
- Georg Kargl Fine Arts
- Martin Janda
- Christine Koenig
- Untitled Projects
- Artribune
Locations
- Vienna
- Austria
- Alte Post
- Moscow
- Russia
- St. Petersburg
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Venice
- Italy
- Etna