The first “modern” contemporary art gallery was, and still is, in… Vienna!

I recently had the opportunity to visit magnificent Vienna in Austria and quickly noticed how every aspect of the city reminds its visitor that the area was once the capital of a major European empire. During my trip, I discovered many features of its art history such as the creation of “Secession” movement, a group of visual artists, who founded an association in 1897 with the idea of breaking with past traditions and move forward with modern initiatives. The first president of Secession was no other than Gustav Klimt, probably the most renowned Austrian artist of the 20th century and painter of the famous “The Kiss” (1907-08) painting.

The Secession building, the “Ver Sacrum”, was created at the time by the architect Joseph M. Olbrich, to exhibit contemporary art and still does today. The building is said to be the first “white cube” in art history, referring to the fact that since then a majority of contemporary art galleries present their artists’ work in an environment that resembles a cube, with white walls and no other artifact.

Should you have the chance to travel to Vienna, make sure to stop by the Secession to visit their latest exhibition and see the Beethoven Frieze, a 34 m painting by Klimt, which is permanently accessible to the public.

Secession
Friedrichstrasse 12, Vienna, Austria