With a little risk (given that the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 epidemic are still in place, although they are slowly and progressively easing) and perhaps focusing on the desire for movement and return to a normal life manifested by almost all balanced people, SPARK Art Fair has announced that the exhibition will be held at the Marx Halle from 24 to 27 June, with the participation of fifty-six galleries from Austria and neighboring countries. In this way, the fair establishes itself as a reference point for the Danube area. Alongside the main section of personal exhibitions, the fair hosts three thematic sections signed by three curators: “Utopia: Post-War” coordinated by Sabine Breitwieser, “Perspectives” coordinated by Tevž Logar and “Interface – Contemporary New Media and Digital Art” coordinated by Marlies Wirth and which will include digital and photographic works.

Here are the intentions in the words of Marlies Wirth: “The art market is still very much oriented towards the analogue, the objective and the tangible. Digital art, however, does not have to be intangible. The Interface section presents exciting artists whose work reveal new perspectives on digital and media art and is intended to inspire the audience to engage with these artistic approaches “.

In this way, with three signed sections and personal exhibitions, we try to give a logical thread in the myriad of proposals and we also try to establish a simpler and more understandable path, which is not always easy in the happy confusion that generally a great fair causes. I would say that this is a method that has been proceeding uninterrupted for some years, with more or less critical intentions, given that in any case we are talking about galleries that exhibit their works in a paid stand, and that sees the most diversified solutions: from the old project “Perspective” in Basel (with young proposals in stands separate from those where sales negotiations took place) up to “Unlimited” for oversized works that cannot be placed in the narrow spaces of a house that complies with the Existenzminimum rules (slogan of CIAM held in Frankfurt in 1929), from the thematic and collateral sections of Artissima to the proposal sections of Arte Fiera.

Alongside the dozens of proposals and unknown names or future promises (such as Birke Gorm, Tilman Hornig, Jonas Lund, Nschotschi Haslinger, Irina Lotarevich and Niko Abramidis & NE), in this edition there will also be the opportunity to see live works by artists of international level such as Lawrence Weiner, Heimo Zobernig, Anna Boghiguian, Marina Abramović, Nancy Spero, Joseph Beuys and Maria Lassnig (official artist of the Austrian pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale and in Italy proposed by Studio Cannaviello).

Here is a shortlist of galleries participating in this edition: Artelier Contemporary (Graz) which presents the work of Peter Kogler; Charim Galerie (Vienna) with the works of Eva Beresin; Galerie Crone (Vienna / Berlin) with the Clemens Krauss exhibition; Jecza Gallery (Timisoara) with the work of Tincuta Marin; Kisterem (Budapest) with the works of Kitti Gosztola; Knoll Galerie (Vienna / Budapest) offering Ákos Birkás; PSM (Berlin) with Nadira Husain’s solo show.

Furthermore, staying in Vienna for a few days also implies other nice possibilities for visits; from the Secession building to the exhibition spaces of the Museum Quartier, up to the brand new Kunstverein Gartenhaus inaugurated a few weeks ago, all demonstrating a vitality that does not appear at first glance, but which can only be seen by scratching under the surface of myths and past stories.

Bruno Sain

Info:

SPARK Art Fair
24 – 27 June 2021
Marx Halle
Karl-Farkas-Gasse 19, 1030 Vienna
www.spark-artfair.com
Instagram / Facebook / Twitter @sparkartfair / #sparkartfair

Nilbar Güreş, Mutter Maria über dem Bügeltisch, 2019, mixed media on fabric, 76,4 x 78,4 cm. Courtesy Galerie Martin Janda e SPARK Art Fair Vienna