Reportage: VIENNAFAIR The New Contemporary 2014

05/10/2014

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Following the festive international art celebration during the vernissage, the tenth edition of VIENNAFAIR The New Contemporary once again broke the record with 25,274 visitors.

“More visitors, more international art collectors and satisfied galleries – this is more than we could have expected,“ says Christina Steinbrecher-Pfandt, artistic director of VIENNAFAIR The New Contemporary, delighted by the successful completion of the tenth edition of Austria’s biggest international art fair. “The consolidation process we commenced this year was positively received by the art collectors in particular. We have now irrevocably positioned VIENNAFAIR The New Contemporary in the international fair calendar and will continue to pursue our goal of establishing Vienna as a hub for art exchanges at the interface between East and West. We are pleased to have made a sustainable contribution to Vienna as a marketplace.”

Evidence that the exchange between East and West works, can be seen in the sales by galleries from Eastern and Southeastern Europe. :Baril (Cluj) passed two works by Maxim Liulca to US collections; Dawid Radziszewski (Warsaw) moved works by Marcin Zarzeka to Austria; on its second visit to the fair Anca Poterasu Gallery (Bucharest) sold works by Zoltan Bela (8000 EUR), Daniel Djamo (4000 EUR), and Nicu Ilfoveanu (1000 EUR) to private collectors as did Jezca Gallery (Timisoara) with works by Genti Korini and Liviu Stoicoviciu (from 2000 to 5000 EUR); whereas

Andreas Binder (Munich) sold a work by Yigal Ozeri to MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow. Ernst Hilger (Vienna) also handed over a sculpture by Deborah Sengl (60,000 EUR) to Poland and sold a work by Ángel Marcos (16,000 EUR) to an Austrian collection. Furthermore, Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art Vienna/Salzburg could arrange a solo exhibition for Markus Hofer at MAMM Multimedia Art Museum Moscow.

Galerie Nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder (Vienna) sold, among others, a work by Katharina Grosse (55,000 EUR) and three editions by Imi Knoebel (3200 EUR a piece); Galerie

Crone (Berlin) sold two works by Monika Grzymala (between 10,000 and 20,000 EUR); Andreas Huber (Vienna) one work by Travess Smalley (13,200 EUR). There were also good sales in ZONE1: for example, Emanuel Layr (Vienna) with works by Benjamin Hirte (1200 to 8000 EUR), Galerie Hubert Winter (Vienna) with photography by Tina Lechner, of which some subjects (1600 to 2400 EUR) are even sold out, and Viktor Bucher (Vienna) with four works by Alfredo Barsuglia (1000 to 6500 EUR). Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman (Innsbruck/Vienna) sold a picture by Herbert Brandl (50,000 EUR) and a work by Thomas Feuerstein (9000 EUR), among others.

Always good for a Gerhard Richter sale was Galerie Michael Schultz (Berlin), which surrendered an “Abstract Painting” for 950,000 EUR.

Tal R, gallery Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Insbruck