KUNSTHALLE Wien

The idea of temporariness was an integral part of the Kunsthalle history from the very beginning. Designed by architect Adolf Krischanitz as a temporary building shaped like a cargo container, the Kunsthalle Wien on Karlsplatz was opened in 1992. Fiercely controversial in its beginnings, the yellow container was not only an element that changed the cityscape of downtown Vienna, but also brought a lasting new impulse to the local art and gallery scene.

Since 1992, more than two million visitors have seen exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Wien. 160 exhibitions presented almost 10,000 works by more than 2,000 different artists, which makes the Kunsthalle Wien one of the best-frequented, but also on e of the most active exhibition venues for contemporary art in Europe.

In 2002, the Italian arts magazine ARTE ranked the Kunsthalle Wien among the six best modern?art institutions in Europe (together with Tate Modern, London, the Kiasma, Helsinki, the Centre Pompidou, Paris and the Bilbao Guggenheim). The New York Times called the Kunsthalle simply an ‘art mecca’ (NY Times, March 11, 2001).

The new Kunsthalle Wien building located in the in the Museum Quarter has opened in 2001. In order to create public awareness of the Museum Quarter as the new home of the Kunsthalle Wien, a number of exhibitions have already been shown in the provisional Kunsthalle premises in the Museum Quarter ever since December 1995.

The yellow container on Karlsplatz was recently downsized to a glass pavilion. This glass cube, again designed by Adolf Krischanitz, is now used a s permanent venue of the Kunsthalle Wien project space, a formerly travelling emerging-art exhibiting project.