YOUNG COLLECTORS
They are young, informed, and interested – get to know Vienna’s young collector scene, find out which artists they love and which channels they use to get information.
Catharina Knobloch
The 30-year-old management consultant started collecting art more than five years ago: “When I received my first big salary plus bonus, I decided to invest it in art”, she says.
Inspired by her family’s passion for art and wanting to use collecting as a form of investment, she initially concentrated on “safe” classical painting and established Austrian artists, such as Hermann Nitsch and Hans Staudacher, but became more and more experimental as her knowledge and experience grew. Today, she concentrates primarily on “hidden jewels” – young, still largely undiscovered contemporary talents – and was among the first to discover the potential of Peter Jellitsch.
The GenZ collector mainly discovers new art and talent via Instagram, but also sometimes at international art fairs. Her tip for galleries would be to become more accessible to young people. “With galleries, there is still a certain inhibition threshold to walk in alone. I would appeal to galleries to make sure that people feel more comfortable with this.”
Marie Grabner & David Anton Wildberger
While Marie (23) already wanted to invest her pocket money in art, it wasn’t until a little later that her partner David (24) caught her enthusiasm.
They bought their first works of art when Marie was just 18 years old. Since then, they have been passionate about their ever-growing collection, to which they have already sacrificed a lot of storage space in their apartment. The young couple concentrates on big Austrian names such as Hermann Nitsch, Gunter Damisch, Joanna Gleich, Hannes Mlenek, Peter Kogler, and Hans Staudacher, which they buy at auctions, in galleries, at fairs, and even on the second-hand platform willhaben.
David and Marie, who both work full-time and study part-time, finance their collection on their own and split the cost of the works. “That’s great because like this it feels as if we only pay half the price!” laughs the couple.
Konstantin Kraus
Konstantin Kraus’ interest in art was awakened three years ago by the legendary after-parties at Frieze London – “which is very atypically for the stereotype of the well-read continental European”, as he says. In Austria, the emerging collector is still looking for this open and easygoing approach to the art scene. To gain deeper insights into the local and international art scene, Kraus has become a member of several collectors’ clubs and is looking forward to connecting with the right people and art.
While his wife selects artworks according to personal taste, the entrepreneur and investor has created an Excel sheet to identify works with a good return on investment – even if he wouldn’t sell at the moment. Artists such as Marius Seidlitz and Hassan Hajjaj have passed Kraus’ criteria, who also collects some NFTs and limited-edition Clase Azul tequila on the side.
Saskia & Clemens Leopold
Art has accompanied Saskia and Clemens Leopold, grandchildren of the renowned art collector and museum founder Rudolf Leopold, throughout their lives. It is therefore hardly surprising that the twin siblings have successfully established themselves as young collectors.
Since their first art purchase at the age of 23 and 24 respectively, they have been steadily building up their own collections of contemporary art, reflecting the zeitgeist and themes of their generation.
While the twin siblings’ tastes and interests are similar, they support different artists. Philipp Timischl, Puppies Puppies, Matthias Noggler, Anna Sophie Berger, Viola Leddi, Mladen Bizumic and Rallou Panagiotou are just some of the artists whose works adorn Saskia and Clemens’ homes and offices.
The two discover new talents while traveling together to fairs, biennials, at trusted galleries and on Instagram.
Through their open exchange and their support with Salon Leopold, they are helping to inspire a new generation of art enthusiasts.
Photos: Maria Belova