Vienna is famous for its opera houses, the Vienna Philharmonic, and a classical music legacy that draws visitors from around the world. Yet beyond its celebrated past, the city is quietly becoming a hotspot for contemporary art, fostering a vibrant scene that’s steadily gaining international recognition. No longer content with being solely the guardian of a glorious cultural past, Vienna is positioning itself as a forward-looking cultural hub, a vibrant crossroads between Central and Eastern Europe where creative dialogues extend beyond borders and new artistic voices are nurtured.
This year, Messe Wiener hosts the 11th edition of viennacontemporary, Austria’s leading contemporary art fair. What started as a regional initiative has grown into a platform attracting galleries, collectors, curators, and artists from across the globe. For the first time under the artistic direction of Abaseh Mirvali, a curator and researcher known for her rigorous yet adventurous approach, this edition brought together more than one hundred galleries from twenty-five countries, underscoring the fair’s commitment to both bold curatorial experimentation and the discovery of emerging talent. Mirvali emphasizes that the 2025 edition is grounded in “a deep respect for the cultural and civic landscape of Vienna and Austria,” adding that “at a time of accelerated change across the art world, we are building a fair that reflects both the complexity of our moment and the strengths of our shared commitments,” highlighting her vision to create a fair that is not only a marketplace but also a space of critical dialogue and cultural engagement. This vision is reflected in the fair’s three curated sections — CONTEXT, ZONE1, and STATEMENT — which together provide complementary frameworks for encountering compelling artistic positions, with CONTEXT and ZONE1 presenting gallery works within the commercial structure of the fair, while STATEMENT functions as a curatorial platform where innovative artists practices can be explored outside traditional market dynamics.
Among the standout initiatives of the 2025 edition is VC Vault, a new section conceived by Antonia Lia Orsi, Director of Vienna’s City Galerie, which gathers eight international galleries united by their commitment to experimentation, discovery, and the presentation of young and emerging artists. Orsi explains that the selection process was guided both by her understanding of the Austrian collecting landscape and by her international network: “In Austria, I know what collectors are drawn to, so I asked friends and colleagues to propose works they felt could resonate here. I then curated each booth carefully, not only to create strong individual presentations but also to ensure that younger international galleries could be represented in ways that speak to Austrian audiences. In this way, the section opens up the fair up to a more international and interactive perspective.” She emphasizes that this is only the beginning: “Although this year came together relatively short notice, I already have confirmations from friends and galleries abroad for the next edition. For me, this is about putting Vienna more firmly on the map, which I have wanted to do for a long time, because it’s good for me, good for the city, and good for everyone involved. Thanks to Abaseh’s support, it has become possible.” Reflecting on her curatorial approach, Orsi adds: “I studied at Städelschule in the Critical Studies program, and for me, curating has always been about bringing people together who did not yet know that they could work together, or even become friends. I am proud to bring these artistic voices into the city — not to push my own agenda, but to mediate and connect. What I am really proud of is the artists themselves, and my role is simply to make sure their work is seen by a broader audience.”
Selected presentations in VCVault include Milan-based gallery le vite, featuring two monumental paintings by Viennese artist Ariane Mueller, whose work is known for its immersive scale and rich, gestural surface that challenges viewers’ perceptions of abstraction and form; Vienna’s Shore Gallery presents Christophe De Rohan Chabot, whose practice explores the delicate translation between image, sign, and spatial experience, creating works that invite the audience to reconsider how visual language inhabits physical space; City Galerie Wien shows collages and a sculptural installation by Zurich-based Italian artist Virginia Ariu, whose work merges found materials with meticulous craftsmanship to investigate the intersection between memory and materiality; Galería Mascota from Mexico City features Romanian artist Marion Baruch, whose sculptures made from discarded textile scraps create a poetic dialogue between space, memory, and the traces of industrial production, emphasizing the beauty and fragility of materials once considered waste; CHB, Berlin, presents Sofia Duchovny, Michael Sullivan, and Lilli Thiessen, whose works span conceptual practice, painting, and installation to probe personal and collective histories; Autokomanda, a gallery from Belgrade, presents Julija Zaharijevic, a Vienna–Berlin-based artist whose work examines the instability of reality and translates it into abstract visual forms, blurring the boundary between perception and imagination; and Oslo BORGENHEIM ROSENHOFF + CENTRALBANKEN showcases a collective presentation including postcard works by Hallvard Nuland, reflecting on the relationship between everyday communication and artistic intervention.
The resonance of viennacontemporary extends beyond the fair itself into the wider cultural life of Vienna, with major exhibitions opening concurrently at institutions such as Secession, featuring outstanding shows by June Crespo, “Danzante,” and John Smith’s “Being John Smith,” and collaborations with Parallel Vienna and the Curated by festival, transforming the city into a vibrant hub for international contemporary art, cross-institutional dialogue, and cultural exchange. The fair not only provides collectors and galleries with an exceptional platform but also asserts Vienna as a city that champions artistic innovation, experimentation, and freedom of expression in an uncertain global moment. By combining the rigorous curatorial vision of Abaseh Mirvali with the collaborative, artist-centered approach of Antonia Lia Orsi, viennacontemporary has succeeded in creating a fair that is simultaneously commercial, experimental, and socially engaged, offering visitors an immersive experience of both emerging and established artistic voices and reinforcing Vienna’s role as a key meeting point for contemporary art in Europe and beyond.
