No art boom in Austria

Almuth Spiegler bemoans the state of contemporary Austrian art: "Contemporary art is booming everywhere. At the auction houses in London and New York, millions are being paid for the works of artists like Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst - after all, expensive art is regarded as a relatively safe investment in these times of financial crisis. Art collecting and visiting museums and galleries are more popular than ever all over the world. ... But as far as its artists are concerned, Austria is way behind. While year after year young Brits, Poles, Chinese and Germans are being hailed as the new stars, Austria's young artists - with perhaps the exception of Gelitin and Markus Schinwald - are living in the shadows. ... Vienna has always lacked a spacious museum endowed with plentiful funding for exhibiting modern and contemporary art - one where the latest international developments can be put on show and the country's own artists can position themselves to attract international attention."

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