Street Art Gallery Aims to Celebrate Vienna’s Artistic Future

By Victoria Severiche

A visit to Vienna is not complete without visiting one of its many art museums. The Kunsthistorisches Museum of Art features centuries of paintings and sculptures, and the Belvedere houses Klimt’s The Kiss, which can be found in every gift shop in the city. These museums are far from the only places to find art. With about 50 art galleries dotting the city, as well as public installations and statues at almost every park, art is ubiquitous. However, the average travel guide fails to mention the less-than-professional art that lines the streets: graffiti and murals that cover the walls of buildings and walls. These works are just as integral to Viennese culture as traditional fine art, and Colin Linde knows it.

Linde, 36, has lived in Austria for 15 years. Originally from Germany, Linde studied fine art in Austria and is an artist himself. However, his favorite medium to work with is not oil paints or sculpting clay. It comes from a can. Having been spray painting since the age of 15, Linde is no stranger to street art. It’s this familiarity with the niche art form that led to him creating Oxymoron Galarie, an art gallery dedicated to sharing works from the realm of street art and promoting underground artists.

A photo of Linde outside of Oxymoron. *Colin Linde, originally from Germany, has lived in Austria for 15 years, and spent the last 8 curating Oxymoron.*

Origins of Oxymoron

Linde, along with three friends, founded Oxymoron in 2016, aiming to give nontraditional artists a space to share their works. The name derives from the juxtaposition of the high art world that Linde studied, and the street art world that founded his love of art.

“Everybody was telling me ‘if you want to be a gallery artist, or if you want to do some gallery stuff, you cannot do both,’” Linde said. “And then it was like, oh, that’s an oxymoron. Maybe we can do it.”

From there, Oxymoron has been a rousing success. It boasts over 60 exhibitions under its belt, ranging from the personal to the abstract. Through it, Linde has collaborated with artists from across Europe and the world.

A photo from the Talking Walls exhibition . *The Talking Walls exhibition featured art from Dinara Hortnagl, spray painted over by local artists. Photo courtesy of Colin Linde.*

Linde says his gallery “should be a place that shows are that is not published or shown in the normal art galleries,” highlighting his continued goal to showcase up and coming artist. When putting together an exhibition, Linde seeks more than just tagging. Linde wants artists who not only engage in street art but play with the notion of it. He cites the example of the Talking Walls exhibit, which featured classical paintings of buildings on canvas being painted over by different street artists, each as if they were painting over an actual building. Other exhibits would focus on specific artists, such as the latest exhibit, focusing on Alice Mohrenschildt and her personal art journey. Linde prefers these individual artists have a background in graffiti but work or study in fine art spaces. He wants more than pictures of graffiti, finding them “boring.”

After putting together the exhibit, it’s time to promote. Linde relies on social media and word of mouth to advertise. Dedicated followers of Oxymoron get updates in their inbox via an email list, and Linde will also extend personal invitations to those in similar art circles. What separates Oxymoron from traditional art spaces in this respect is the lack of print advertising. Once using flyers and posters, Linde says that people now don’t pay attention to them, therefore making them “senseless and a waste of paper.”

A photo of a mural, which had been spray painted over. *As legal and commisioned works of street art are on the rise, less professional artists reclaim walls that were once “theirs.”*

The Future of (Street) Art

While the street art scene is evolving, Linde feels there are still issues in the community. There is a prevailing culture of “claiming” a wall, which discourages new artists from trying their hand at the art. There is also the issue of “legal” versus “illegal” works. Linde pointed out a mural that was commissioned by the homeowner. A day later, it was painted over and retagged.

“Some people think graffiti belongs to the street,” Linde said.

There is also a disproportionate gender skew. When looking into new artists to host at Oxymoron, Linde said that it’s more often men than women in the scene. However, gender doesn’t matter to him in his selection process.

Contrary to what one might think, Linde doesn’t believe that Vienna’s artistic history has much of an influence on his gallery or its subject matter. While those who study classical art are encouraged to learn from the masters, street artists are more inclined to paint to the beat of their own drums.

“Sometimes we are just teenagers doing something because it looks cool.”

To see the exhibits mentioned in this article and more, readers can take a look at their website (2). For those interested in seeing what Oxymoron does next, their Instagram (1) is the place to be. Linde’s personal Instagram can be found here (3).