Vienna ranks among the world’s most celebrated cultural destinations, with its reputation largely anchored in its historic museums, baroque palaces and gothic cathedrals. The city’s artistic identity, too, is steeped in its legacy, especially the 19th-century masters Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele.
However, Vienna also boasts a vibrant and eclectic contemporary scene that often surprises even the most seasoned art travelers. In recent decades, dozens of contemporary galleries have opened, forming an energetic and unconventional constellation that has upended the city’s traditional art expectations. Here, avant-garde installations, conceptual curation and experimentation with new mediums unfold in fresh ways, which is especially compelling when paired with the city’s classical architecture.
We would never recommend skipping a visit to Belvedere or the Kunsthistorisches Museum (which recently hosted an exhibition of work by Flemish Baroque artist Michaelina Wautier), but we do suggest venturing beyond their iconic walls to explore a few contemporary art spaces. After all, you can’t truly say you know Vienna unless you appreciate both its past and its present.
Vienna’s best contemporary art galleries
Galerie Krinzinger
- Seilerstätte 16, 1010 Wien
Galerie Krinzinger was founded by art historian Dr. Ursula Krinzinger in 1971 and has remained one of the most influential spaces in the contemporary art scene ever since. Over the decades, it has hosted more than 500 solo, group and thematic exhibitions, with a strong focus on avant-garde, performance and body-related art. The gallery has represented both Austrian and international artists, including some of the most influential names in this genre, such as Marina Abramović, Chris Burden and Hermann Nitsch, who were integral in shaping its early foundation. In the following decades, Krinzinger expanded its roster to include prominent artists like German performance and installation artist Jonathan Meese, Algerian-French mixed-media artist Kader Attia and English conceptual artist Mark Wallinger.
The gallery’s main exhibition space is housed in a historic building that was once part of the Residenz Club. Krinzinger also operates a sister project space in the 7th district, Krinzinger Schottenfeld (formerly Krinzinger Projekte, opened in 2002), which focuses on experimental and emerging artists. Both spaces adhere to the typical white-cube aesthetic, with high ceilings, flexible lighting and multiple rooms that can accommodate simultaneous or large-scale installations.
COURTESY GALERIE KRINZINGER
Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman
- Seilerstätte 7, 1010 Wien
The husband-and-wife powerhouse of the Vienna art scene, Elisabeth and Klaus Thoman, opened their gallery in Innsbruck in 1977, with the Vienna branch following in 2011. The mission remains the same across both locations—nurturing emerging voices that contribute to Austria’s evolving artistic legacy. The gallery primarily focuses on paintings, sculpture and installation works, but exhibitions feature mixed-media and experimental exhibitions from time to time. The Vienna location boasts a spacious and open main hall, filled with both artificial and natural light streaming through high arched windows at the front. The interiors feature clean, classic walls and high ceilings, adaptable for both expansive solo retrospectives and experimental group shows. The space is designed to allow larger artwork to breathe.
Artistically, Thoman’s strength lies in its diverse roster of Austria’s established figures and rising stars. The gallery represents long-established names like Arnulf Rainer (known for his gesture-rich abstraction) and Franz West (famous for his sculptures, installations and absurd objects), alongside international artists such as Swiss multidisciplinary artist John M. Armleder and Danish painter Tal R, known for his bold, colorful and expressive style.
Courtesy Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, kunst-dokumentation.com / Manuel
Galerie nächst St. Stephan
- Grünangergasse 1 and Domgasse 1, 1010 Wien
The historic building that houses this Vienna art gallery has undergone multiple transformations before becoming the Galerie nächst St. Stephan we know today. Initially, Otto Kallir-Nirenstein, an art historian and publisher, opened his Neue Galerie here in 1923. During the Nazi era, Kallir emigrated to the United States, and the building passed through multiple hands, with the space serving various purposes until 1954, when Otto Mauer—a Roman Catholic priest and art patron—revived it under the name Galerie St. Stephan. In 1964, the gallery’s name changed once again to Galerie nächst St. Stephan. Since 1978, it has been led by Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, who has largely defined its identity. Galerie nächst St. Stephan has become a cornerstone for Vienna’s post-war avant-garde, with a strong focus on abstract, minimal and conceptual art. The gallery has maintained a consistent curatorial theme over the decades—art that “stands the test of time,” experimental, transnational, and intellectually charged. Its primary focus is on painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and video, all framed within a clear conceptual context, from the Neo-Geo movement and post-minimalism to modern visions.
Galerie nächst St. Stephan hosts exhibitions in two spaces. The main—and best-known—venue is located on the second floor of a historic building near St. Stephen’s Cathedral (hence the name). This venue consists of a sequence of interconnected, white-walled rooms with even lighting—ideal for large canvases, precise installations and works on paper. The second space, located just around the corner at Domgasse 1, allows the curatorial team to host additional exhibitions and more experimental projects. The gallery’s roster is filled with notable names, including Heimo Zobernig, a giant of Austria’s conceptual minimalism movement; “light” artist Brigitte Kowanz, known for her use of neon, lights, fluorescent tubes and mirrors; Lawrence Weiner, a key figure in the 1960s conceptual art movement; and abstract artist Imi Knoebel.
© Galerie nächst St. Stephan
Galerie Artziwna
- Herrengasse 17, 1010 Wien
Artziwna is one of Vienna’s largest contemporary collector hubs, with a steady rotation of postwar and contemporary works. The primary focus is on Austrian painting and sculpture, particularly gestural and expressive abstraction. That said, the gallery also features work by a significant number of international artists. Located in a beautiful historic building, the exhibition space spans over 700 square meters, including multiple interconnected, wide open rooms and a dedicated courtyard area for sculptures. The layout is designed to maximize visual impact: the wide walls, color-friendly lighting and high ceilings work together to showcase each piece as if it were the centerpiece of the space. This gallery’s roster is particularly strong, with masters of Austrian post-war and contemporary art, featuring works by figures like Arnulf Rainer, Martha Jungwirth, and Hermann Nitsch, alongside blue-chip international artists such as Sam Francis and Karel Appel.
Photo: Peter Gugerell
Galerie Hubert Winter
- Breite G. 17, 1070 Wien
Founded in 1971 by Hubert Winter, the eponymous gallery primarily focuses on works from the historical avant-garde and rigorously conceptual contemporary art. In its early years, Winter prioritized surrealism; however, by the 1980s, the gallery had decisively shifted its focus toward American and European minimalism and conceptualism, a direction it has maintained ever since. That said, the team at this contemporary gallery is always open to showcasing more experimental works, such as Guillaume Bijl’s large-scale installations or Alfredo Jaar’s mixed-media pieces.
The exhibition space on Breite Gasse initially appears to be a standard white cube, characterized by clean walls, neutral lighting, and interconnected rooms. However, the space functions more as a canvas than a simple display area. The team frequently transforms the space to complement the works on display, updating the walls and layout to enhance the themes and ideas of each exhibition. Hubert Winter’s roster includes Austrian anchors such as feminist photographer and painter Birgit Jürgenssen and Heinrich Dunst, known for his text-object constellations, alongside international artists like Lawrence Weiner, renowned for his conceptual text works, and postminimalist Richard Tuttle.
Photo: Simon Veres
Galerie Martin Janda
- Eschenbachgasse 11, 1010 Wien
Galerie Martin Janda opened its doors in 1992 and has been renowned for its rigorous program of conceptualism, new media and socially engaged practices ever since. The gallery’s goal is to present contemporary art that engages in dialogue with social issues—whether ecological, political or architectural. The space is a quintessential modern white cube: high ceilings, white walls and pared-back architecture designed to accommodate experimental curation, which often favors mixed-media displays featuring video projections, installations and photographs. The proportions are intended to accommodate a wide range of works, from grand installation pieces to more intimately sized pieces.
Janda’s roster is especially strong in Austrian talent, having exhibited Lois and Franziska Weinberger’s nature-focused conceptual work, Heimo Zobernig’s minimalist sculpture and painting and Josef Dabernig’s installations. The gallery’s international lineup is equally impressive, with artists such as Hans Schabus, known for his site-specific installations, and Roman Ondak, recognized for his performative and conceptual work.
© Galerie Martin Janda
Galerie Steinek
- Eschenbachgasse 4, 1010 Wien
Silvia Steinek opened her gallery in 1982, and since then, the curatorial program has primarily focused on visual media, with a strong emphasis on art that explores identity, the body and feminist perspectives. Expect exhibitions that prioritize classic painting styles with conceptual depth, but aren’t afraid to venture into more experimental territory; abstraction and figurative work sit alongside photo-based pieces, video and installation when the concept calls for it.
The space itself consists of multiple wide-open rooms connected by rounded arches. The high ceilings and a well-balanced mix of neutral artificial lighting with warmer natural light work particularly well to let the large canvases and sculptural works breathe. The roster focuses primarily on local Austrian artists, with notable names including Renate Bertlmann (feminist sculpture/installation), Walter Vopava (abstraction) and Franz Ringel (expressive figuration). Steinek has also showcased a number of influential international voices, including Dorothy Iannone (erotic-pop icon), Carol Rama (avant-garde mixed media) and Tony Oursler (video/installation).
Photo: Simon Veres
Charim Galerie
- Dorotheergasse 12, 1010 Wien
Miryam Charim founded her eponymous gallery in the late 1990s with the mission to treat art as part of a public conversation, not just commerce. This curatorial approach helped give the gallery its identity: Charim is always trusted to put on sharp, idea-driven exhibitions that provoke discussions about politics, feminism, memory or media—often pairing established figures with younger voices to enrich the dialogue.
The exhibition space occupies the first floor of a baroque palais near the Dorotheum. It is a wide, open and bright space with plenty of natural light and high ceilings. Yet the building’s architecture gives the rooms the feel of refined salons. The generous proportions and smooth interconnection between spaces via rounded arches allow for intimate displays, focusing attention on each individual piece. Charim’s curation is concept-driven and unconstrained by medium. While contemporary forms—video, photography, installation, performance—are often favored, classic painting and sculpture appear when the medium serves the concept. Notable names on the gallery’s roster include Austrian feminist and media art pioneer Valie Export, composer and visual artist Olga Neuwirth and French-Syrian multimedia artist Bady Dalloul.
© Flavio Palasciano, courtesy Charim Galerie
Galerie Emanuel Layr
- Singerstraße 27, 1010 Wien
Emanuel Layr’s exhibitions are sharp and idea-driven, often showcasing experimental art and cross-media installations, alongside traditional paintings, sometimes incorporating photography and performance. The names on display reflect this approach, offering a mix of established figures and emerging voices—often in dialogue with one another. The exhibition space spans two floors, featuring clean sightlines, high ceilings and flexible, even lighting—polished without feeling too pompous. The split-level layout allows the team to stage dense video or research-heavy projects upstairs, while keeping larger sculptural or multi-part installations open on the main floor. It’s a room-for-ideas kind of architecture that invites extended viewing. The roster is a strong blend of local and international voices, with notable names including Anna-Sophie Berger, known for her interdisciplinary installations; mixed-media artist Cécile B. Evans; abstract painter Nick Oberthaler; and the late avant-garde artist Stano Filko.
Courtesy Galerie Emanuel Layer, kunst-dokumentation.com / Manuel
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