This year’s ZONE1, the fair’s section focusing on emerging talents with a connection to Austria, will be curated by Bruno Mokross. With ten solo exhibitions of artists who live or have lived in Vienna and are represented by local and international galleries, Mokross wants to examine what attracts international artists to Vienna and how the living conditions here affect their art:

„Vienna is an attractive bedrock for a diverse cast of aspiring professionals. International artists setting up base in the Austrian capital are citing an improbable constellation of affordable rents, government support, harmonious ecosystems, stable economy, and high living standards in a peaceful, democratic nation—oh, and the water quality!—as motivation. How might the aspirations of those who came to stay contrast with those who ultimately left? What are the driving desires of a scene shunning the prevalent hustlepreneurship of most art metropolises? Or, in broader terms: how do the conditions under which art is created contribute to shaping it—and how do artists shape those conditions? The format of ZONE1—artists under 40, Austria-based and/or -educated—prescribes a possible angle of approach, in which a cast of ten artists either living or having lived in Vienna, represented by national and international galleries, might know an answer to some of these questions.“

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Bruno Mokross works as an artist, curator, and software developer in Vienna. He runs the independent exhibition space Pech and is one of the founders and main organizers of Independent Space Index, the network and eponymous festival of Viennese project spaces.

ABOUT ZONE1

A regular highlight since 2015, the exhibition format exclusively presents the works of talented artists under 40, who either live, work, or have received their education in Austria. Appreciated by institutions, art experts, and visitors alike, ZONE1 provides a unique space for these artists to make their mark on the international art scene and has established itself as a stepping stone to accelerate young artist’s careers.