SPARK Art Fair Vienna

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Eiko Gröschl, presented by Charim Gallery Vienna, for SPARK Art Fair 2024.

In his paintings, Eiko Gröschl (*1992) traces an indeterminate feeling that makes us pay attention to everyday situations, attempts to make visible and fix something vague, which affects us but at the same time eludes us. His painting allows the suspension of the parallel presence of contradictory qualities, even makes this possible. Painting creates the distance that is necessary to view something as a manufactured image, in order to be simultaneously touched, addressed, perhaps also irritated and frightened by something that comes to mind.

Make sure to visit Charim Gallery when in Vienna, Austria.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Elizabeth Jaeger, presented by Mennour Gallery at SPARK Art Fair 2024.

Elizabeth Jaeger’s works at SPARK Art Fair Vienna explore hybrid forms of cohabitation – Contrasting nature and cities as habitats. The booth features pieces from „prey“, Jaeger’s first European solo show at Galerie Mennour in Paris. Born in 1988 in San Francisco and now based in New York, Jaeger creates sculptures that challenge binary systems, revealing an underlying emotional order. Her process involves pushing logic to irrational conclusions, and her work emphasizes empathy, both as a feeling beyond language and as a response from the viewer that becomes part of the artwork itself.

Make sure to visit Mennour Gallery when in Paris, France.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

“We, artists, are always the alarm mechanisms for humanity.” Refik Anadol in „AI Is an Extension of My Mind“, Louisiana Channel.

Part of SPARK „Expanded“ 2024 – the sculptural section of the fair – were the four artists Refik Anadol, Philipp Gufler, Rojo & Kreß, and Rony Plesl. They explore contemporary issues of identity, history, and human impact using distinct mediums. Anadol’s digital works challenge perceptions of space in the AI age, while Gufler’s quilts make q***r histories visible. Rojo & Kreß critique consumer culture through playful sculptures, and Plesl uses glass to symbolize the tension between nature and human influence. Despite their diverse approaches, all address the intersection of past, present, and future within the context of societal and environmental change.

1. Refik Anadol, presented by PILEVNELI Gallery
2. Rojo & Kress, „Superfruits“, 2024, presented by Galerie3
3. Rony Plesl, „Trees Grow from the Sky“, 2021, presented by Steinhauser Gallery
4. Philipp Gufler, „Rabe Perplexum“, 2015, presented by Galerie Françoise Heitsch

All art works shown belong to the respective artists and galleries.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

„We, artists, are always the alarm mechanisms for humanity.” Refik Anadol in „AI Is an Extension of My Mind“, Louisiana Channel.

Part of SPARK „Expanded“ 2024 – the sculptural section of the fair – were the four artists Refik Anadol, Philipp Gufler, Rojo & Kreß, and Rony Plesl. They explore contemporary issues of identity, history, and human impact using distinct mediums. Anadol’s digital works challenge perceptions of space in the AI age, while Gufler’s quilts make q***r histories visible. The artist duo Rojo & Kreß critique consumer culture through playful sculptures, and Plesl uses glass to symbolize the tension between nature and human influence. Despite their diverse approaches, all address the intersection of past, present, and future within the context of societal and environmental change.

1. Refik Anadol, presented by PILEVNELI Gallery
2. Rojo & Kress, „Superfruits“, 2024, presented by Galerie3
3. Rony Plesl, „Trees Grow from the Sky“, 2021, presented by Steinhauser Gallery
4. Philipp Gufler, „Rabe Perplexum“, 2015, presented by Galerie Françoise Heitsch

All art works shown belong to the respective artists and galleries.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Don’t miss your chance to see these two captivating exhibitions at and revisit familiar artistic encounters from former editions of SPARK Art Fair!

The exhibition „Visionary Spaces“ centers on the works of and , focusing on their shared interest in the relationship between humans and their environment through spatial sculptures. Although separated by time and geography, the two artists met in 1963, influencing international debates on architecture, housing, and critiques of post-war functionalism.
Based on her own works, artist , who also participated at SPARK Art Fair in 2022, has developed a display for the encounter of these two distinctive oeuvres. Her mutable sculptural objects serve as walls, plinths, and interfaces within the gallery spaces. By overcoming the customary division of sculpture and architecture the objects draw on the artistic practice of both Kiesler and Pichler.

The second exhibition „Soil Fictions“ by , features a site-specific installation that uses soil to explore ecological, economic, and cultural narratives. Loderer, who also took part in this year’s SPARK Art Fair, investigates the tension between what is visible and hidden, ephemeral and permanent, through a posthumanist lens. Her sculptures engage with non-human elements like animals and fungi, allowing natural processes to shape her materials, resulting in a chance-driven coexistence of living beings.

Both exhibitions were curated by Verena Gamper.

„Visionary Spaces“, On view until 06.10.24
„Soil Fictions“, On view until 15.09.24

All art works shown belong to the respective artists/institutions.

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️

Billi Thanner, presented by ARTECONT Gallery at SPARK Art Fair 2024.

Billi Thanner, a Vienna-based multimedia conceptual artist, is known for her works that blend neon light, sculpture, performance, and painting. Her art often critiques societal phenomena, emphasizing strong visual impact and emotional engagement. At SPARK art fair 2024, Thanner’s theme, „Wien und die Welt,“ explores and reinterprets stereotypes of Vienna and Austrian culture. Her installation features a rose-neon-lit window leading to a heart-shaped box filled with reflective particles, symbolizing the fusion of information and reality in Vienna. The work critiques the superficiality of the city’s customs while highlighting its complex, multilayered nature.

Make sure to visit ARTECONT Gallery when in Vienna, Austria or visit to see Thanner’s newest installation „Künstlerinnenhaus“, 2024.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️

Mátyás Erményi presented by acb Galeria at SPARK Art Fair 2024.

Mátyás Erményi’s works resemble pages from a giant comic book, focusing on the visual characteristics of objects rather than storytelling. His images often feature anthropomorphic appearances, turning everyday objects like stoves, trees, and spider webs into figures with hands and legs. Blending cartoon-like figures with abstract geometric patterns, his paintings evoke memories from a child’s perspective, free from nostalgia. Erményi’s art balances kindness and fear, cuteness and melancholy, reflecting the socialization of multiple Eastern European generations. His use of paintbrush and acrylic paint creates the effect of magnified doodles, enhanced by repetitive geometric patterns and occasional use of raw canvas. As an instinctive painter, he skillfully combines monochrome and complex color systems in his compositions.

Make sure to visit acb Gallery when in Budapest, Hungary.

📷 Robert Bodnar, Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

„I take everyday objects, or more often situations, which I already see as sculptures, and I work them into artworks that are freed from these starting points. There is a long process of working through to reduce and change the direction. The tension may come from the result of this switch of context or the effort to balance the form and function while creating the work.“ Ayşe Erkmen

Part of SPARK „Expanded“ 2024 – the sculptural section of the fair: Ayşe Erkmen transforms environments to rethink spatial experiences, focusing on site-specific, experiential art. Eva Schlegel explores perception and meaning through photography and installations, emphasizing concealment and revelation. Nives Widauer blends various media to recontextualize familiar elements, merging personal and cultural themes. Gunter Damisch uses vibrant abstract forms and colors to explore visual perception and emotional impact. Anke Eilergerhard creates sensory, often humorous sculptures with silicone, engaging touch, taste, and smell. Each artist uniquely combines sensory engagement with conceptual depth.

Eva Schlegel, Floating Orbit, 2022, Presented by Galerie Krinzinger.
Gunter Damisch, Alublatttorturm, 2011, Presented by Galerie Ernst Hilger.
Anke Eilergerhard, Quellnymphe, 2013. Presented by ANNA LAUDEL Gallery.
Ayşe Erkmen, not the color it is/not the size it is, 2020. Presented by DIRIMART.
Nives Widauer, Settle, 2013. Presented by Wienerroither & Kohlbacher.

All art works shown belong to the respective artists and galleries.

Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Christopher Cozier presented by Françoise Heitsch at SPARK Art Fair 2024.

Throughout his career, Christopher Cozier has expanded contemporary Caribbean art and its discourse. He critically explores themes of site and place, particularly in relation to the Caribbean, addressing it as a way of understanding the world based on its history. His work questions the boundaries and significance of the Caribbean, emphasizing its global influence wherever Caribbean people are. Cozier’s creations challenge who is included in the Caribbean space and what it offers.
„Home/Portal“ continues these explorations, focusing on movement, belonging, and home. It parallels earlier works like „Tropical Night“ and „New Level Head(s)“, which address transitional states and unreturned locations. The red steps symbolize traditional Caribbean homes and are designed to engage the public and create a moment of discourse.

Make sure to visit Françoise Heitsch Gallery when in Munich, Germany.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Looking for a place to cool down during these hot summer days in Vienna? 🌌
Visit Leopold Museum, where two extremely unique exhibitions are displayed.

1,2: „Splendor and Misery“

The aftermath of World War I demanded fresh portrayals of reality in art. The era’s resignation, accusations, and unspeakable hardships contrasted sharply with the hope, aspirations, and burgeoning zest for life of the „Golden Twenties.“ These contrasting emotions were reflected in a new form of art – unsentimental, sober, precise, and purist – that depicted the world in an objective, realistic manner. A carefully curated exhibition, where highlighted artworks are shown in differently colored rooms in earthy tones that create a truly immersive experience.

Visit „Splendor and Misery“ at Leopold Museum Vienna until 29.09.24.

3,4,5: „Unknown Familiars“

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein, the main shareholder of the Vienna Insurance Group, „Unknown Familiars“ unites all six of the Group’s collections for the first time. Though related, these collections have never been displayed together. Over two hundred works, spanning various genres and periods, are exhibited on an entire floor of the Leopold Museum. The exhibition pairs young contemporary art with interwar modernism and the avant-garde of the 1970s with contemporary Austrian art.

You’ll rediscover artists that also exhibited at SPARK: Melanie Ebenhoch, Brigitte Kowanz, Nilbar Güreş, Luisa Kasalicky, Simon Lehner, Evelyn Plaschg, Martin Walde, Max Weiler and Edin Zenun.

Visit „Unknown Familiars“ – The Vienna Insurance Group Collections, at Leopold Museum Vienna until 06.10.24

All works shown belong to the respective artists and institutions.

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️

Andrea Ivanović Jakšić presented by Galerija Rima at SPARK Art Fair 2024.

Andrea Ivanović Jakšić is a contemporary artist from Serbia whose abstract and organic-like object-paintings are based on intuitive, conceptual and material connections to nature. Behind Andrea’s object-paintings/drawings lays her deep intuitive relation to existence, very close to ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Among many connections to Heraclitan philosophy, three main concepts are the basis of Andrea’s art: change and transformation as the only inalterable facts of existence, oppositions in permanent shifting, and the most important – inseparable unity of everything in nature.

Make sure to visit Gallery RIMA when in Belgrade and Kragujeva, Serbia.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

„Sculpture is an escape room, a daydream. The working method itself is to invent form, material justice, held up in the person...sculpture is a concentration in which past ideas of form and desired forms, daydreams and nightdreams are engraved, and it is a trace-like testimony of injuries caused by the externalization of the person necessary for its creation…“ Bruno Gironcoli 🔗

The works that were part of SPARK „Expanded“ 2024: Anestis Ioannou, George Lappas, Isa Melsheimer, Bruno Gironcoli and Laura Limbourg, while unique, share common themes, innovative materials, and contrasting elements.
Each artist explores significant social and cultural themes: Ioannou reflects on urban landscapes by blending skateboard wheels with marble, Lappas examines the body and space through fragmentation and movement, Melsheimer focuses on urban living and architecture, Limbourg addresses gender equality and sexual discrimination in symbolic, culturally charged settings.

1. Isa Melsheimer, Vorhang (Sinkhole), 2008. Presented by Galerie Nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder
2. Laura Limbourg, Untitled, 2023. Presented by SUPPAN Galerie.
3. George Lappas, Happy Figure, 2010. Presented by CITRONNE Galleries
4. Anestis Ioannou, New Sun (Fast as Hell, Green/Red), 2022. Presented by CRUX Gallery
5. Bruno Gironcoli, Trichterfuß, 1998-1999. Presented by Galerie KONZETT

All art works shown belong to the respective artists and galleries.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Sabiha Çimen presented by LOOCK Galerie at SPARK Art Fair 2024.

Sabiha Çimen spent three years photographing Girl Quran Schools in five cities in Turkey, a subject that she knows very well since she attended the same schools when she was a teenager with her twin sister. After becoming a photographer, she returned to those schools to work on her project that has now become the subject for her first book. The title Hafiz refers to one who has memorized all 604 pages of the Holy Quran. Historically the task of memorization began during the time of Muhammad. The individual process can take up to four years and is usually done by girls ranging in age from eight to nineteen. Turkey has thousands of Quran schools. This world has never been captured with so much intimacy before, as only Sabiha can do, because she is part of this culture. Every photo reveals a different aspect and gives us a deeper understanding of the daily life and the dreams of these girls.

Make sure to visit LOOCK Galerie when in Berlin, Germany.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️

presented by Galleria Fonti at SPARK Fair 2024.

Giulia Piscitelli’s presentation comprises six arazzi from 2015, made of a velvet fabric and featuring different symbols. The arazzi are handmade by the artist, using bleach in order to extract the paint rather then applying it on the support. Doing so, Piscitelli burns the image in the velvet or embeds it in it, and as much as the process requires some mastery of the qualities of the materials, it always leaves a margin of unpredictability in the final result, verging on the very ruin of the support. Creation and destruction are intrinsically intertwined. The symbols are signifiers from the vast realm of labor and commerce. They are symbols of utility, of production and trade, yet they incorporate their own historical, cultural and spiritual meaning.

Make sure to visit Galleria Fonti when in Naples, Italy.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Experience powerful contemporary art from diverse, global voices and visit „The Beauty of Diversity“ at ALBERTINA Modern 🫧🔗

Efforts to expand and diversify museum collections are a logical consequence of today’s unconditional calls for equal rights and freedom of expression. The exhibition „The Beauty of Diversity“ at the ALBERTINA Modern Museum showcases contemporary collections emphasizing women, LGBTQIA+ artists, people of color, aboriginal perspectives, and autodidacts, contrasting with Old Masters. It reflects today’s art world, deeply engaged with identity politics, expanding the historical canon with diverse artistic and stylistic approaches. The exhibition challenges classical aesthetics, embracing the grotesque and marginalized, highlighting hybrid and recombined systems and genders. It prioritizes artists from Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America, countering eurocentric and western art traditions.

Don‘t miss this exhibition at the ALBERTINA MODERN Museum! On view until August 18. 2024.

Art works shown belong to the respective artists.
1,3 Gelitin/Gelatin
2 Amoako Boafo

Mesmerised visitors at this year’s SPARK Art Fair🔮⛓️

The art works of Blalla W. Hallmann (1941-1997) lure viewers in with pre-known motives and exciting compositions. The images have a balanced relationship between children’s drawings, icons and academy, equally show the motifs of an ideal and yet abysmal world. Cycles about birth, torture chambers and morgues can be found as well as fantastic creatures and parodic elements of art history.

Blalla W. Hallmann‘s works shown by Galerie Ebenspwrgwr, Berlin, at SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2024.

📷 Robert Bodnar

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Pedro Vaz and Sérgio Fernandes presented by KUBIK Gallery, at SPARK Art Fair 2024.

1,2
The artistic work of Pedro Vaz (*1977 in Maputo) focuses on exploring nature and landscapes, primarily through painting, video, and installation. Personal engagement with the site is crucial to his practice, often involving field trips. Past projects have taken him to diverse locations such as the Amazon in Brazil, the Tour du Mont Blanc spanning France, Italy, and Switzerland, and the Superstition Mountains in the USA.

3,4
Sérgio Fernandes‘ work reflects on time - a time that exists in the narrow, dark and unknown space between death and life. His artworks are created in a void and revolve around experienced or future states of which there are no memories. His paintings hint at something that lies beyond the visible, something that cannot be directly grasped. Sérgio Fernandes (*1985, Sobralinho) often emphasises: „Deep down, my paintings are proof that I am empty and that I don’t have a single idea. I am just an explorer.“ Fernandes works mainly with oil on large canvases, often complemented by watercolours, drawings and sculptures.

Make sure to visit KUBIK Gallery in Porto, Portugal and São Paulo, Brasil. All art works belong to the respective artist and gallery.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Gavril Pop, presented by Ivan Gallery, at SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2024.

Gavril Pop (*1998, Timișoara) uncovers hidden nuances through meticulous and repetitive acts and explores the transformative potential of gestural processes and repetition. The accumulations and variations of his objects, from infinite configurations of geometric shapes to letters and puzzles emptied of meaning, are an invitation to probe one’s subjectivities and experiences. In his artistic practice, he is interested in the visualization of cognitive processes and the conjunction of elements of knowledge. He is also concerned with the relationship between the general public and art and constantly collaborates with foundations and associations in Timisoara in cultural mediation programs dedicated to contemporary art exhibitions.

Make sure to visit Ivan Gallery in Bucharest, Romania.

All artworks belong to the respective artist and gallery.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

This is how to make an entrance! 🏛️

The sculpture of Frida Baranek put a perfectly balanced scale to the entrance hall of SPARK Art Fair 2024. The installation, made of bend metal mesh, transforms the space into a performative scenery and beautifully matches the lightweight cast iron construction of the 1881 built Marx Halle.

Fun fact: Originally built as the central cattle market of Vienna, Marx Halle could host up to 6.000 animals, enabled trough the outstanding structural achievement of completing the first wrought iron construction in the Austrian Empire.

Frida Baranek
Liminality XI, 2021
Galvanized Steel Screen
250x250x250 cm

📷 Robert Bodnar, Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Refik Anadol, presented by PILEVNELI Gallery, at SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2024.

Refik Anadol (*1985 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a pioneering media artist known for his innovative use of data and machine learning to create mesmerizing visual experiences. His work often blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds, transforming data into immersive installations that challenge our perceptions of reality. By harnessing cutting-edge technology, Anadol transforms vast datasets — ranging from urban environments to neurological data — into dynamic, flowing visuals that evoke a sense of wonder and contemplation. His art not only pushes the limits of digital creativity but also invites audiences to explore the complex interplay between humanity, technology, and the environments we inhabit.

Make sure to visit PILEVNELI Gallery in Istanbul, Turkey.

All images belong to the respective artist and gallery.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Blurred nights make the best memories! ✨
The opening night of SPARK Art Fair 2024 payed homage to celebrating art together. 🥂

Many thanks to our partners that provided us with sparkling drinks

📷 Robert Bodnar

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Weekly Recap ⏮️
Almut Linde presenting her truly breathtaking and radically empathetic work – represented by PSM at 2024

Always travelling to focal points and white spots of our perception, Almut Linde integrates people and processes into the production of artworks. She works with local situations and processes and creates temporary collectives with non-artists. For the artist, art is always an examination of the world, how we live in it and what we perceive of it.
At SPARK ArtFair 2024, PSM is showing a selection of works that Almut Linde has created with German Bundeswehr soldiers. Linde asked snipers to shoot at aluminium plates with cannons or glass plates with rifles in order to design them creatively – a task that is very far from the minds of soldiers who are trained to aim precisely at a given point. In contrast, Linde has also worked with veterans suffering from PTSD using therapy clay to create ceramics that visually express their emotional world and wounded psyche.

Make sure to visit PSM Gallery in Berlin, Germany.

📷 Kurt Prinz

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025

Jan Gustav Fiedler, Artistic Director, reflecting on the significance of art fairs around the world ✨

The concept of SPARK Art Fair is unique by presenting exclusively solo presentations in same sized boots. This carefully curated fair blends historically significant perspectives with current contemporary narratives to create a dynamic reflection of both.
After the 2024 edition of SPARK, Jan Gustav Fiedler set out to explore other vibrant hubs of contemporary art, including Art Düsseldorf, Gallery Weekend Berlin and the Venice Biennale. He was especially impressed by the diversity of presented topics and new approaches of curating often expanding into the digital realm.

These narratives shape the city around the fairgrounds and beyond, an effect that similarly seeks to accomplish. Through this approach, art is able to transcend physical barriers and promote a sense of interconnectedness and appreciation for contemporary art on a global scale.

Artwork: Julius von Bismarck, presented by

📷 Robert Bodnar

💫 SAVE THE DATE: SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2025, 20. – 23. March 2025