Smolka Contemporary

The gallery Smolka Contemporary was founded in 2013 by Elisabeth Melichar and is located in the centre of Vienna.

The painters in the gallery s programme, such as Alois Mosbacher and Hubert Schmalix, primarily represent the generation that rose to prominence in the 1980s under the label Junge Wilde (Young Wild Ones). In contrast to the conceptual and performance art of the previous decade, they favoured a new form of painting and sculpture: an ideologically unconcerned abundance of imagery and narrative, in which materials, colours and shapes were at the center of expression. The gallery has worked with these artists since its inception. Since then, the gallery programme has grown. Abstract painting is also featured prominently with artists such as Elisabeth Plank and Walter Vopava. In addition to painting, the gallery works with applied and conceptual artists Uli Aigner (ONE MILLION) and Gilbert Bretterbauer. Sculpture is another focus of the programme, featuring artists such as Hans Kupelwieser, Matteo Negri, Markus Redl, Thomas Stimm, Manfred Wakolbinger and Uta Weber. Aside from supporting established artists, the gallery also increasingly works with young and emerging artists such as the painter Negra Bernhard and textile artist Arezou Shayesteh Sadafian. Smolka Contemporary sees itself as a gallery that strives to ensure national and international visibility through intensive collaboration with a limited number of artists. This visibility is enhanced by participation in international fairs such as Vienna Contemporary, Art Brussels and Art Dusseldorf.