viennacontemporary 2019 | Post Release

With its consistently continued focus on art and galleries from Central and Eastern Europe, vien- nacontemporary has established itself as a fixture in the national and international art scene. This year, 29,163 visitors have made their way to the four-day-fair at Marx Halle.

With 110 galleries from 26 countries, viennacontemporary is considered the leading event of con- temporary art in Vienna and makes the extended September weekend an ideal time to visit a city that has always been a city of art and culture.

„The high quality of the participating galleries and ongoing experimentation to find the best formats for presenting contemporary art and culture are the fair’s main objectives. With this year‘s Culture 5.0 Conference, we were able to broaden the discourse by connecting visual art with representa- tives from business, science, and digital technologies. It’s a direction we would like to continue to pursue in the future,“ said Dmitry Aksenov, Chairman of the Board of viennacontemporary.

The sales made are – as far as known – satisfactory for almost all participating galleries.

„A start, fortunately, a successful one, was made. As Artistic Director, I am grateful for the positive impact that our gallery colleagues have had on viennacontemporary 2019. The atmosphere in the Marx Halle was characterized by collegiality and had an air of glamor. We are continuing our path of gentle renewal and small adjustments, and enter the post-production phase full of inspiration,“ concludes Johanna Chromik after her first season as the fair’s Artistic Director.

Thanks to synergies with esteemed partners, such as the gallery format curated by, the fair for young art Parallel, and the Vienna Design Week, viennacontemporary was able to generate ex- tensive coverage about Vienna’s vital art scene. This was not missed, neither by the German press nor by media from Eastern European or international specialist magazines. This close collaboration with important cooperation partners will be also strengthened and deepened next year.

„The need for a relevant art fair in a city like Vienna has, fortunately, been widely recognized. vien- nacontemporary has presented itself stronger than ever – both in the quality of the art presented, as well as in the sales figures. It remains our main concern to increase the commitment of national as well as international companies, as well as the desire to cooperate even closer with the City of Vienna,“ rejoiced the outgoing Managing Director of viennacontemporary, Renger van der Heuvel.

Awards Bildrecht selected Marina Sula and the gallery Gabriele Senn as the winners of the viennacontem- porary | Bildrecht SOLO Award of 4,000 euros.

Berlin-based artist Laura Schawelka was awarded the Q21 viennacontemporary Artist-in-Residence Prize, which is awarded in collaboration with the magazine EIKON – International Journal of Photography and Media Art. She was selected to work and live for two months in one of the 9 artist studios of the Q21 (www.q21.at) at MuseumsQuartier Wien. Also, she receives a scholarship of 2,100 euros.

Sales For example, with the large local galleries, Galerie nächst St. Stephan was able to sell a work by the American-Canadian artist Jessica Stockholder for 70,000 euros; a work by Valie Export chan- ged owner for 35,000 euros at Galerie Taddaeus Ropac; Galerie Hubert Winter sold a sculpture by Joel Fischer for 10,000 euros, and Konzett sold a work by Rudolf Polansky for 120,000 euros.

Kisterem Galeria from Budapest was able to get a collector enthusiastic about a work by György Jovanovics for 16,000 euros, while Galleria Michaela Rizzo closed sales for drawings by Matthew Attard for around 2,000 euros. The Romanian gallery Jezca handed over works by Radu Oreian and Ciprian Badovan to collectors for around 15,000 euros.

Also, younger galleries, such as Zeller of Almsick, have succeeded and sold, amongst others, Dejan Dukic for around 20,000 euros. Galerie Crone, which has moved from Berlin to Vienna, sold works by Daniel Lergon and Stefan Reiterer to a renowned US-American collection.

Others, like Galerie Krinzinger, Martin Janda, and Meyer Kainer kept a low profile but said they were very satisfied with the sales.

Talks and Guided Tours The offered series of talks was met with a large public interest. The new tours, which this year for the first time had to be booked along with a ticket, were also mostly well attended. These program offers can be expected to be continued and expanded next year.

Fair dates 2020–2022: 24–27 September 2020

23–26 September 2021

22–25 September 2022