Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian
Dutch
French
German
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Portuguese
Romanian
Spanish
en 
Toolip Art Gallery opens in Vienna, continuing a legacy of artistic excellence
On 14 February, the new Toolip Art Gallery in Vienna opened. 52 international artists participated in the Toolip Gallery’s first Collective Exhibition, “Alea Iacta Est”, a selection of photography, sculpture, drawing and painting. This historic start signals a new stage of the Toolip Art Gallery. After its creation in Barcelona and its passage through Budapest, the gallery now opens its doors to Vienna with the following artists:
Abo Alberto Nori, Adela Beltran, Alena Gojak, Ana Leib, Ana Lida Diaz, Angela Thouless, Ametza Irizar, Arthugo, Att Cowatch, Attila Mata, Benard Baptiste, Boguszak, Cassy, Cecilia Sjölund, Ela Daple, Emilia Castañeda, Elena Shumakher, Eva Hildebrand, Fanni Mikó, Gerard Millet, Irene Pieri, James Day, Jenny Larsson, Joel Llopis, Jiani, John Mangiardi, Juan José Peirón, Josep Torelló, Karl Pont, Louise Marie Johnston, Lucile Coste, Mankel, Manuela Ovalle, Marga Garcia, Marta Nobre, Martin Barraud, Max Kornfield, Mrs. Toolip, Mystica the Brave, Myriam Besri, Nicolas Meriel, Norbert Dezsi, Oriane Meurant, Oswald Aulèstia, Ozan Adam, Pannetier Le Hénaff, Sofia Simões, Robert Ricov, Roxana Ilasoaia, Sam Chilvers, Sergei Komiagin, and Zoé Aczél.
The new Toolip Art Gallery could not be in a better place than the iconic Ballgasse Street. More specifically at number 6, the historic center of Vienna, with its more than 120 museums and a heritage of greats such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He lived at the corner of that street between 1790 and 1791, where he spent the last year of his life. There he composed his most controversial works, such as the Magic Flute and Lacrimosa.
Ludwig Van Beethoven lived at Ballgasse 3 and at number 4, where he was a regular at the number 6 address and where it is said he also used a room often. It should also be noted that at the same number 6 Ballgasse, within the famous beer restaurant Zum alten Blumenstock, the historic artists’ club, Ludam Cave was founded. A notable member of that club was the maestro Antonio Salieri. Yet another illustrious member was Franz GrillParzer, considered the most important Austrian dramatist of the 19th century, who was not only part of the club but also lived at number 4 Ballgasse. GrillParzer wrote Beethoven’s funeral eulogy and the epitaph for his friend Franz Schubert.
As if the Ballgasse number 6 address were not enough, the 1970s boasted the “Schapira & Beck” gallery. This gallery displayed the best of 1970s avant-garde. As explained in the book published by the WIEN MUSEUM, the 1980s Pakesch gallery marked a turning point and revolutionized the Vienna art scene.
An extract from this book:
“Ballgasse 6. Galerie Pakesch and the art scene of the 1980s” focuses on the place in Vienna where a new generation of young artists held their first exhibitions, such as Herbert Brandl, Otto Zitko, and Josef Danner. In addition to the gestural painting of the “young savages,” Heimo Zobernig performed at the Ballgasse. From 1985, the sculptor Franz West was under the supervision of Pakesch. Until 1993, John Baldessari, Ilya Kabakov, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Sol Lewitt, and Alber Oehlen also exhibited there. The book shows all the activities of the Avantgarde Pakesch Gallery in photographs, documents, and correspondence.” There was even a short film made in 1992 called “Ballgasseland” presented at the Vienna International Film Festival in Vienna.
All this confirms that the foundations of the seven fine arts have been laid here in the last two hundred and twenty-five years, and now the Toolip Art Gallery will add to this legacy. Only time will tell if the Toolip Art Gallery lives up to those legends.
Read also: