SPARK Art Fair: Walter Seidl andJan Gustav Fiedler Take Over Artistic Direction

Vienna–Curatorial & Advisory Board include both national and international experts, for a diverse and high-quality art fair in March 2024

The two curators Walter Seidland Jan Gustav Fiedlerare takingover the artistic direction of SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2024. Together they will lead the newly createdCuratorial & Advisory Board, which also includes curator Marina Fokidis, from Athens,and Zurich curator Christoph Doswald. The team of fourwill be drawing on theirnational and international expertise to create a diverse and high-quality contemporary art fair from March 15 to 17, 2024 in Vienna's MARX HALLE. The fairwill feature only solo works –an aspect whichmakes SPARKunique.

"SPARK Art Fair Viennahas been focused on consistently developingits concept, which was first implemented in 2021, to become a fully curated fair with exhibition character," says Walter Seidl. "The solo workson display offera unique situation for artists to show their work in solo exhibitions at an international fairfor contemporary art."

"The proven, unique exhibition architecture with the exclusive exhibitingof solo workshas generated enthusiasm among artists as well as exhibitors and art enthusiasts at the first twoSPARKArt Fairs. We are pleased to be able to implement this concept in a refinedform in 2024," explains Jan Gustav Fiedler.

Vienna–Curatorial & Advisory Board include both national and international experts, for a diverse and high-quality art fair in March 2024

The two curators Walter Seidland Jan Gustav Fiedlerare takingover the artistic direction of SPARK Art Fair Vienna 2024. Together they will lead the newly createdCuratorial & Advisory Board, which also includes curator Marina Fokidis, from Athens,and Zurich curator Christoph Doswald. The team of fourwill be drawing on theirnational and international expertise to create a diverse and high-quality contemporary art fair from March 15 to 17, 2024 in Vienna's MARX HALLE. The fairwill feature only solo works –an aspect whichmakes SPARKunique.

"SPARK Art Fair Viennahas been focused on consistently developingits concept, which was first implemented in 2021, to become a fully curated fair with exhibition character," says Walter Seidl. "The solo workson display offera unique situation for artists to show their work in solo exhibitions at an international fairfor contemporary art."

"The proven, unique exhibition architecture with the exclusive exhibitingof solo workshas generated enthusiasm among artists as well as exhibitors and art enthusiasts at the first twoSPARKArt Fairs. We are pleased to be able to implement this concept in a refinedform in 2024," explains Jan Gustav Fiedler.
v GREAT CINEMA IN THE THEATRESPARK2024
will be complemented for the first time by a special programmeon the GLOBETheatrestage in Vienna's MARX HALLE. A curated film programmewith works by selected gallery artists will be shown on a cinema screen. The theatre will also serve as a stagefor an accompanying performance and discourse program me.

In order to supportartists and gallerieswho participate inSPARK2024, prizes will be awarded for outstanding works, stands,and exhibitionsin collaboration with partner organizations.

The participation of galleries will be by invitation through the Curatorial & Advisory Board. The board is supported in an advisory capacity by a national and international Gallery Advisory Board, which includes the Viennese gallery owner Robby Greif of Christine König Galerie, Victoria Dejaco of the Viennese gallery Wonnerth Dejaco, Sabine Schmidt of the Berlin gallery PSM and Róna Kopeczky of acb Galéria in Budapest. During the planning stagesof the fair, the team will work together to create and develop specific themes,which are representative ofcurrent trends in contemporary art.

THECURATORIAL & ADVISORY BOARDWALTER SEIDL
works as a curator, author and artist and lives in Vienna. He received his PhD in contemporary history with a dissertation on Austrian cultural representation in the USA (published in 2001). His curatorial projects focus on conceptual artistic tendencies with a focus on the medium of photography as well as different forms of image politics and identity constructions. Seidl has curated numerous exhibitions in Europe, North America, and Japan, written catalog essays for artist monographs, and written for several international art magazines. From 2011-2013 he was a visiting professor at Webster University Vienna.

JAN GUSTAV FIEDLER
works as a curator with international galleries, interim spaces and institutions. His curatorial practice follows the approach of offering young and emerging artists* in particular a platform for contemporary narratives. Often, historical spaces form the architectural framework of these projects, whose contents connote the original function of these places in a new way. Fiedler has realized such exhibitions in Austria, Germany, Italy, Serbia, and the USA, among others.