Nothing says love as much as sharing your life’s passion – in this case – for art. On the occasion of the nearing Valentine’s Day, we are revisiting some powerful couples whose love for each other grows analog with their art collections.
viennacontemporaryMag
viennacontemporary Magazine reports on the activities of viennacontemporary and provides you with in-depth insights into what’s going on in the art world. We publish interviews with gallerists, collectors, artists, and art lovers. Our main focus is Austria, but we also explore the art scene in Southern and Eastern Europe and beyond. viennacontemporary is not only a reflection of the contemporary art landscape in the region. It’s about people, society, trends, and dialogue.
From Private Collectors to Founding Kunsthalle Praha
Collectors Interview | Pavlína and Petr Pudil
1 February 2024
It all started, when Pavlína and Petr Pudil wanted to buy a decoration for their living room. 20 years later, the couple have not only built up a foundation collection of 3,000 works by the most important artists in the Czech Republic and the surrounding countries from modernism to the present day, but have also founded the Kunsthalle Praha, an exciting young institution that puts this very collection in dialog with international artists.
Katrin Bellinger describes herself as a born collector. The art professional has turned her passion into a profession and traded in old master drawings for 30 years. Today, Bellinger, who grew up in Cologne, Germany, and lives in London, UK, has many obligations, such as being on the board of the National Gallery and the […]
“If you are interested in culture, it is important to give something back.”
Collectors Interview | Martin Hatebur
7 November 2023
Swiss lawyer and passionate art collector Martin Hatebur has been president of Kunsthalle Basel since 2008. He is also actively involved in contemporary art in various capacities, including president of the St. Moritz Art Film Festival, on the board of Lafayette Anticipations in Paris, the Swiss Association of Art Collectors, the Foundation for Art and […]
“For those wishing to begin collecting, looking at emerging art is always the best beginning.”
Francesca Gavin | Curator of ZONE1 2023
4 July 2023
Francesca Gavin, curator of the ZONE1 shares her plans and thoughts on this year’s special exhibition with us. Gavin, who lives and works both in London and Vienna, is widely regarded as one of the most influential voices in the contemporary art world.
“The term ‘African art’ can be quite limiting.”
Collector Interview | Joseph Awuah-Darko
1 July 2023
How to introduce a creative multi-talent in a single paragraph? Joseph Awuah-Darko, born in London, has lived in Ghana since the age of five. There, the artist, collector, and philanthropist has established a successful residency program and supports young African artists wherever he can. viennacontemporaryMag discussed the urgency to diversify the global art world and […]
viennacontemporary Artistic Director Boris Ondreička met gallerist Eva Presenhuber, who, after pioneering the art scene in Zürich and New York, has now returned to her homeland Austria and opened a gallery space in Vienna.
“The best way to support artists is to make them visible!”
Collectors Interview with Sevda and Can Elgiz
5 April 2023
Being the first collectors in Turkey to open a public space for contemporary art in Istanbul – the Elgiz Museum – Sevda and Can Elgiz present everchanging shows of their large collection and regularly initiate projects to support the young local art scene.
THE NAKED ROOM: “We are good at producing art, so this is our contribution during the war.”
First Timers | The Naked Room
24 February 2023
Founded in 2018, “The Naked Room” soon became one of the hottest galleries in Kyiv – and then the war came. Since then, the young gallery has been traveling Europe and tirelessly promoting the visibility of Ukrainian artists – amongst others for the first time at viennacontemporary 2022.
In a conversation with viennacontemporaryMag, Kamran Diba reminisces about his efforts of establishing and running the first museum for modern and contemporary art in Iran, and laying the cornerstones of his impressive collection that allow him to live comfortably without any other source of income.