Gabriele Senn (1960–2023)

Austrian art dealerGabriele Senndied on September 24 at the age of sixty-two following a long illness. The news was announced by Christine König, whose eponymous gallery is next door to Gabriele Senn Galerie in Vienna. Senn was known for her strong, lively presence, and for her commitment to artists, particularly those of a Conceptual bent. Among the artists she represented were Andy Hope 1930, Richard Jackson, Kitty Kraus, Josephine Pryde, Michael Riedel, and Cosima von Bonin. “Working with artists and being at the forefront is important to me,” Senn told König.

Despite her health woes, Senn continued her exhibition program until shortly before her death. Her daughter Kathi Senn will continue to operate the gallery.RelatedANETA SZYLAK (1959–2023)ROBERT IRWIN (1928–2023) Gabriele Senn was born in 1960 in Innsbruck, Tyrol, in the Austrian Alps. At the age of eighteen, she moved to Vienna, where she studied painting in Oswald Oberhuber’s master class at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Following her graduation from that institution, she turned to organizing and curating exhibitions at an early age.

In 1997, she opened Hoffmann & Senn, giving von Bonin a solo show there that same year. In 2000, she launched her own gallery on Schleifmühlgasse. Thanks to her sustained efforts and those of the owners of Galerie Georg Kargl, Christine König Galerie, and Alba, the street is today recognized far outside Vienna as a vibrant arts district. Senn was additionally a cofounder of Viennafair (now the Vienna Contemporary Art Fair), president of the Austrian Gallery Association, and a co-initiator of the Vienna Gallery Weekend and the gallery festival Curated By, whose fifteenth edition is taking place this year.

“It’s hard to understand that she left us,”lamentedpainter Adrian Buschmann, whom Senn represented, on Instagram. “It was so direct, loud and honest with Gabriele. She believed in me as an artist and a human being. .

. . She was an incredible gallerist and artist.” The organizers of the Vienna Contemporary Art FairhailedSenn as “one of the leading and inspiring figures of the Austrian art scene. For more than a quarter-century, her gallery in Schleifmühlgasse showcased exceptional exhibitions.

Her legacy,” they concluded, “lives on in the artists she championed.”.