My new carry-on bag has a design of words, red on white. The words read, “Vienna, Now or Never.” I like words as things to be seen. I also like Vienna, so for me it is a definite Now.Immersed in art and design, the capital of Austria holds immense treasures for a discerning traveler. From modernist turn-of-the-century masterpieces of Otto Wagner, Kolo Moser, Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele to contemporary art studios and designer shops, Vienna continues to fascinate. To me, Vienna, like no other city in the world, affirms a well-known maxim: good taste is irreversible.
New designs incorporate effortlessly into the creatively opulent ambience of Imperial City, and can be seen everywhere. Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, just open in December 2010, is located in a trendy area of Danube Canal and overlooks downtown with its namesake – Stephansdom, a 14th century Gothic cathedral, at the heart of the city.
Staying at the “living artwork” hotel I had plenty to write home about. Glass walls provided enticing city views from every room and every public space. In the morning, slightly jet-lagged, I watched Vienna sunrise from my floor-to-ceiling window. At bedtime, I contemplated the lights of Wiener Riesenrad, giant Ferris wheel in the green zone of Leopoldstadt. My room was squeaky-clean white – floor, ceiling, walls, and all furniture, interspersed with shiny mirrors and matte glass doors. Pencil-doodle design above my royally plush bed made me feel like living a writer’s dream…
In Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, French architect Jean Nouvel implemented the idea of non-color, so the guests would fully engage with the views outside. Every room in the hotel is white, grey, or black.
By contrast, the abundance of color is found on the atrium and upper floor ceilings painted by Pipilotti Rist – bright and bursting with larger than life images of plant and animal life. The artist incorporated video installations among the images, so the ceiling comes “alive” over the heads of hotel guests dining at Le Loft or relaxing after a massage at So Spa/.
Sofitel’s slanted roof repeats diamond patterns of Stephansdom’s tiles, and along the back wall of the hotel a landscape architect Patrick Blanc created a vertical garden of 20,000 plants (www.sofitel.com).A walk around Danube Canal reveals little designer shops and galleries with their innumerable treasures.
At Song (www.song.at) I could have bought a one-of-a-kind outfit, a pair of shoes, a bottle of swanky perfume, a Balenciaga bag, or… a multimedia piece by a contemporary artist.
At WUBET (www.wubet.com) I was tempted by colorful wool shawls handmade old-fashioned way on an authentic loom delivered from Ethiopia.
At Lisabird’s Art Collective (www.lisabird.tv) I saw Deborah Sengl’s exhibition with startling sculptures of fox, mink, and ermine taxidermies wearing coats and accessories made of synthetic “human skin.” At Lust Gallery (www.thelustgallery.com) preparations were underway for Brian Goeltzenleuchter and Markus Hanakam/Roswitha Schuller multimedia shows.
It seemed easy to be creative in a city, open to new ideas and actively supporting them. MuseumsQuartier, (www.mqw.at) one of the world’s largest complexes for contemporary art and culture, with MUMOK, Leopold Museum, and Kunsthalle, also implements special programs, like Artist-in-Residence, open to international participants, and “quartier21,” which provides space and support to dozens of small companies and collectives focusing on digital art, fashion, and design.Exploring the riches of MQ might be compared to a gallery-walking endurance test, so at lunchtime weary travelers flock to Café Milo at the Architekturzentrum Wien, designed with minimal resources and maximum creativity by French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean Philippe Vassal.
A developing diverse and bustling designer universe is found in Vienna’s 7th district, formerly home to silk factories.
At Art Point (www.artpoint.eu) designer Lena Kvadrat, originally from Moscow, Russia, creates women’s fashions out of men’s suits and shirts.
AM Betastore (www.advanceminority.com) sells art on T-shirts (and has a cute dog on premises).
Lena Hoschek (www.lenahoschek.com) shop offers feminine retro styles with lots of lace and roses, and a BDSM twist.
Even more BDSM stuff, including leather briefs, latex body suits, and riding sticks can be found at Tiberius (www.tiberius.at) “a place where taboos don’t exist.”
And if you are not fully satisfied with all the available fashion, you can create your own at Your Fashion, Our Job (www.custombrand.org).
Local eateries in the 7th district emanate the same creative vibe. Schon Schön (www.schon-schoen.at) serves wonderful organic lunches at the communal table decorated with roses suspended in vials in one room, while two others are taken by hairstylist Claudio Studer and a dressmaker’s studio.
Das Möbel (www.dasmoebel.at) is a furniture gallery as well as a cozy coffee shop where pastries and espresso drinks are served on showroom tables with dangling price tags.
In the city center, I admired a testament to Viennese tradition of good taste, J. & L. Lobmeyr glass shop (www.lobmeyr.at) in business since 1823, now operated by the sixth generation of crystal-making family. From its ties to Wiener Werkstätte to contemporary cutting-edge designs, Lobmeyr’s history of handmade chandeliers includes a 1963 commission of “Starburst” for the New York Metropolitan Opera.I visited a museum of interior textile manufacturer Backhausen (www.backhausen.com) 150 years in operation, currently producing accessories based on original designs of the Wiener Werkstätte artists.
Finally, in the atrium of Otto Wagner’s 1906 architectural gem – the Post Office Savings Bank (www.ottowagner.com) I saw “Hagenauer: Viennese Modern and New Objects” exhibition of Art Deco brass and wooden figurines, now on display through July 30.On Schwarzenbergplatz, across from the Russian Heroes’ Monument commemorating the Red Army fallen who fought against German-Fascist invaders of Vienna, I marveled at the latest addition to the city public art called The Morning Line. This interdisciplinary project was commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, founded by Francesca von Habsburg.
The Morning Line is a sonic pavilion, made of black-painted aluminum modules of various sizes with cut spiral patterns. The modules are combined into a multifaceted structure that can be built into various configurations reflecting the idea of pulsating universe.Created by Matthew Ritchie with Aranda/Lasch and Arup AGU, the massive yet airy free-form pavilion, which contains 50 loudspeakers, was inaugurated in June at the music festival where contemporary composers presented nine new pieces specially designed for its sonic architecture. The Morning Line will be on display in Vienna through November 20 (www.TBA21.org). More information on designer Vienna at: www.vienna.info.
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