Galerie nächst St. Stephan

Galerie nächst St. Stephan is an art gallery located in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Monseigneur Otto Mauer in 1954, the gallery has served as a crucial platform for the avant-garde and contemporary art in a city that was initially resistant to such movements. It has operated from its original premises on Grünangergasse, adjacent to the Stephansdom, since its inception. Under the leadership of Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, who became director in 1978 and owner in 1987, the institution has achieved international renown, consistently engaging with current artistic trends through a thematic, historical, and cultural lens.

The gallery spaces on Grünangergasse have functioned as an art venue since 1923, when Otto Kallir founded the Neue Galerie. Kallir, who was Jewish, fled Austria following the 1938 annexation to Nazi Germany, eventually establishing the Galerie St. Etienne in New York. Vita Künstler directed the Vienna premises until 1952. In 1954, painter Gertie Fröhlich introduced Otto Kallir to Otto Mauer. Kallir had hoped his daughter would take over the space, but she declined, and Fröhlich was deemed too young. Instead, Mauer, a priest with a passion for collecting, assumed leadership, renaming it Galerie St. Stephan (changed to Galerie nächst St. Stephan in 1964). Mauer provided a vital forum for avant-garde artists until his death in 1973. Oswald Oberhuber, who had curated exhibitions there during the 1960s, succeeded Mauer and shifted the focus toward conceptual art and current trends. In 1978, Rosemarie Schwarzwälder became acting director, emphasizing project-based exhibitions and cultural programming to foster openness to international art phenomena. She acquired the gallery in 1987.

The gallery's program has evolved through several distinct phases while maintaining a commitment to contemporary discourse. Under Otto Mauer, the focus began with figurative artists before shifting decisively to Art Informel, providing a platform for figures like Arnulf Rainer, Maria Lassnig, and Wolfgang Hollegha. Mauer also incorporated contemporary architecture, conceptual painting, sculpture, and installations by artists such as Joseph Beuys. During the 1970s under Oberhuber, the gallery embraced conceptual art and hosted performances by the Viennese Actionists, literary readings by the Wiener Gruppe, and the 1975 exhibition Magna organized by Valie Export focusing on female creativity. Under Schwarzwälder, the program pivoted toward new sculpture, new geometric art, abstraction, and Minimal art, establishing professional ties with American artists. Schwarzwälder's approach consistently contextualizes current trends within broader historical and cultural frameworks, accompanied by symposia and publications continuing Mauer's tradition of international art dialogues.

The gallery has organized several landmark exhibitions that defined its shifting priorities. In 1984, Zeichen, Fluten, Signale. Neokonstruktiv und parallel introduced young Austrian, Swiss, and German artists including John Armleder, Imi Knoebel, Brigitte Kowanz, and Heimo Zobernig. The 1986 project Abstrakte Malerei aus Amerika und Europa juxtaposed two generations of artists from two continents, featuring Helmut Federle, Gerhard Richter, Robert Mangold, Brice Marden, and Robert Ryman. A 1988 exhibition placed the gallery's abstract artists in historical context by presenting Jean Arp, Josef Albers, and John McLaughlin. The 1990 exhibition Kulturen, Verwandtschaften in Geist und Form drew parallels between twentieth-century abstraction and pre-Columbian South American, Native American, Thai, Japanese, and Chinese forms. Another project, Abstrakte Malerei zwischen Analyse und Synthese, united European and American painters exploring contemporary abstraction. In 2009, the gallery and its artists were showcased in a guest exhibition at the Palacio de Sástago in Zaragoza, Spain.

The gallery is situated on Grünangergasse in the Innere Stadt of Vienna. Its location is notably adjacent to the Stephansdom, a proximity that inspired the institution's name. The rooms have served as a continuous art gallery space since 1923, surviving the transition from the Neue Galerie through the founding of Galerie St. Stephan to its current iteration.

Galerie nächst St. Stephan is located on Grünangergasse in Vienna, Austria. The institution is currently owned by Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, who has maintained its role as an active gallery and cultural hub. In addition to exhibitions, the venue hosts concerts, lectures, discussions, readings, and performances, continuing its mission to promote cultural discourse and present international artistic phenomena to the Viennese public.