Vienna Galleries Launch Astoria Artshow After Cancellations

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A new art fair, the Astoria Artshow, debuted in Vienna this past September, organized by Vienna Art United, a collective of 35 galleries. The inaugural event took place in the multi-story Astoria Garage, a historic venue built in 1923 in central Vienna, which had not previously been used for a major art event. Kuehn Malvezzi, a Berlin-based architecture firm known for its work on documenta 11 and the Belvedere, designed the space for the fair.

Vienna Art United, a nonprofit founded in April 2026, initiated the fair after the cancellation of the city's two main art events, Vienna Contemporary and Spark Art Fair Vienna, earlier this year. The collective aimed to establish“a new, central, international art fair,” according to organizers. Maximilian Thoman of Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman told Observer that the fair demonstrates ambitious plans for future editions and highlights the urgency for Vienna's gallerists to act collectively.

The fair's“solidarity-participation model” set fees based on each gallery's revenue and size, rather than booth dimensions. The first edition featured approximately 80 Austrian and international galleries, including those from Romania, Italy, Belgium, the U.K., Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia and the Netherlands.

Highlights included a solo booth by Amsterdam-based Galerie Ron Mandos presenting works by Cuban American artist Anthony Goicolea, featuring large-scale paintings and the mixed-media installation Untitled Sleep. Goicolea stated,“The work depicts the passage from childhood to adulthood, and the precarious existence of refugees, many of them children and teenagers, adrift between worlds. For them, the journey into the unknown often marks an abrupt end to childhood or even life itself.”

Another notable presentation came from Austrian gallery Lisi Hämmerle, which showcased works from the Still Life 3000 series by Vienna-based artist and filmmaker Claudia Larcher. This series reinterprets traditional still life with contemporary motifs like a techno-aesthetic bird skull, a shattered smartphone, and a bee-like drone, exploring themes of life's fragility and the interaction between nature and technology. Larcher is also the subject of a major solo exhibition,“No applause. no life. no pain,” at the Francisco Carolinum museum in Linz, Austria, curated by Eva Fischer.

Bärbel Vischer, curator of contemporary art at Vienna's Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), described the Astoria Artshow as“very important” and“very innovative,” praising the choice of venue and the collective effort of the gallerists. When Observer visited, the MAK was hosting“Rooms That Dream of the Past,” a solo show by Berlin-based artist Thomas Demand, curated by Vischer and on view through January 24, 2027.

Concurrently with the Astoria Artshow, other art events took place across Vienna, including Parallel Vienna, an alternative art fair, and Curated By, a gallery festival in its 17th edition, themed“LOVE” and running through October 17, 2026. Many other institutions also hosted exhibitions, such as the Secession, Wien Museum, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, and Belvedere 21, which is presenting the first solo museum exhibition in Europe of Chinese contemporary artist Miao Ying. Foto Arsenal Wien is showcasing solo exhibitions by South African visual activist Zanele Muholi and Ghanaian Austrian photographer Eric Asamoah, both on view through January 10, 2027.

Vischer emphasized Vienna's dense and lively art scene, citing its numerous museums, artist-run spaces, and galleries, along with two art schools. Li Yizhuo, a Vienna-based art historian, curator, and collector, commended the consistent structure and comprehensive curatorial teams at Vienna's public and historic art museums. She also noted a recent wave of exhibitions focusing on“Vienna 1900,” covering design, crafts, intellectual media, art, and philosophy.

We previously reported:

Gallerist Eva Presenhuber will close her Vienna space in early December, citing local conditions and a 40% drop in sales over three years.

The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum in Spain has opened a new €45 million Norman Foster-designed wing, doubling its exhibition space to 6,000 square meters.

Source: Observer Arts

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