Zurich-based Dealer Eva Presenhuber is Closing her Vienna Gallery

Dealer Eva Presenhuber told ARTnews she is closing her space in Vienna in early December, in a decision that the influential gallerist said had more to do with local conditions in Vienna than the overall financial stability of her Zurich-based business. The gallery in Austria is currently showing an exhibition of works by Angela Bulloch until October 23, which will be followed by a final exhibition of works by Austrian designer Nina Hollein, from November 11 to December 4. Shortly afterward, the gallery will close.

Presenhuber, who has been in the business for over 35 years and is one of Europe’s most respected dealers, said she opened her Vienna space in April 2022 on a “sentimental” whim, mostly out of affection for her native Austria. When an ideal location became available, she said she jumped at the opportunity. And while Vienna was no financial boon, it was a different kind of success story, she explained, by contributing to the celebration of artists from her program with no less than 18 solo and 17 group institutional exhibitions in the region, in just five years.

Nevertheless, when the lease for the Vienna space was due to end this year, and despite her Zurich galleries “doing fine,” Presenhuber reasoned it was time to close, given the added expense it had come to represent. Indeed, a slower art market has indirectly weighed on her decision to close, as the gallery’s overall sales have dropped by about 40 percent over the last three years.

Presenhuber explained the art market is still in a period of adjustment for many galleries who, like hers, are seeing “more hesitation” from collectors. “There’s a lot of panic in the world right now, which also reaches our clients, who are getting more and more quiet, and less excited,” Presenhuber said.

As competition rises from other galleries as well as auction houses, Presenhuber said a generation of her once-dedicated collectors are getting older and not only acquiring less, but wondering what to do with their thousands of artworks. It’s unclear, she said, who, if anyone, will replace them.