en route | dior’s creative dialogue with the vatican library

On the geographical playing field of art history, Vienna stands out as a hotbed of artistic innovation. It’s therefore unsurprising that an art fair celebrating creative advancement is being hosted across in the city’s MARX HALLE cultural centre. From March 21 to 23, thousands of contemporary art enthusiasts will attend SPARK Art Fair Vienna. They will be greeted by a variety of solo presentations that will quite literally project artists onto the world stage. For the fair’s fourth edition, artistic directors Jan Gustav Fiedler and Walter Seidl are focusing on both up-and-coming talents and established artists: ‘Our democratic exhibition layout, with equal stand space for everyone, not only promotes equal opportunities, but also gives visitors the opportunity to engage more deeply with the works on display.’ 

The fair is set to be an exciting pedestal for contemporary art. Its global spectrum of creative mediums will range from painting and photography to innovative and interactive mixed-media exhibitions. As you’d expect, its accompanying programme will include a range of inspiring talks from digital advancement to issues concerning the art market. This year’s fair is all about the interplay between tradition and the future, artists and the public, and people and technology. Underscored by the byline: ‘Contemporary Art, Digital Innovation and Creative Diversity’, organisers are pulling no punches when it comes to its selection of exhibiting galleries and practitioners.

In the arena are ninety international galleries from five different continents. Renowned names such as Nächst St. Stephan, Krinzinger, Lombardi-Kargl (Vienna), Konrad Fischer (Berlin/Düsseldorf), Dirimart (Istanbul), 1 Mira Madrid (Madrid) and Fonti (Naples) will be among those in attendance. Their artists range from established greats such as Lois Weinberger, to feminist pioneer Sanja Iveković, and Gregor Schneider, winner of the Golden Lion at the 49th Art Biennale in Venice. Up-and-coming talents such as Vera Klimentyeva, Lunita-July Dorn and Laura Killer will also make an appearance.

As part of SPARK Art Fair’s commitment to digital innovation, the fair will host the Smartphone Orchestra. A unique immersive experience that transforms participants’ smartphones into a unified musical instrument. Organisers have taken this one step further by also partnering with BMW Group Niederlassung Wien for the second time. Bridging the borderlands between art and mobility, the Group will unveil its legendary Art Car, a dynamic contemporary automobile conceived in collaboration with pioneering artists. This synergy between movement and creativity, will sit alongside a series of exclusive events at the MAK. Welcoming new perspectives on the evolving relationship between design, and artistic experimentation.

To round off the event’s scintillating program, organisers have taken over the historic? Viennese Globe Theatre for its production of live performances, video art and talks by discussion panels. Artists, curators and art experts from all over the world will debate topical issues in contemporary art, such as the increasing importance of artificial intelligence in the art world. All talks at the Globe Theatre are free of charge, enabling a much wider audience to enjoy these lively debates and presentations.

SPARK Art Fair Vienna is running from March 21 to 23. You can learn more about the event and purchase tickets here.

words. Raegan Rubin

For its 2025 artist collaboration, Ruinart partners with Julian Charrière, a Franco-Swiss artist whose work explores the intersections of time, geology, and human impact. Known for blending scientific research with poetic storytelling, Charrière challenges how we perceive nature — not as something separate from us, but as a force constantly shaped by human history and intervention. Conversations with Nature brings this perspective to Ruinart’s terroir, transforming the Champagne house’s deep connection to the land into an artistic dialogue that spans millennia.  

Ruinart’s selection of Charrière is a natural fit. The Maison has long been at the forefront of sustainability in winemaking, from regenerative viticulture to eco-designed packaging. Charrière’s work adds another layer, questioning how human activity reshapes the environment and what it means to engage with nature in a time of ecological urgency. “At the heart of my work lies the notion of encounter — an intimate dialogue with place, biome, and environment. These moments are not mere observations but exchanges, where landscape and presence intertwine, shaping one another in a quiet, reciprocal conversation,” he explains.  

Champagne’s limestone-rich soil holds traces of an ancient sea that once covered much of Europe. Forty-five million years ago, the region was submerged under the Lutetian Sea, a vast marine world whose fossilised remains still shape the land. The chalk pits (crayères) beneath Ruinart’s vineyards are ghostly echoes of this past, a reminder that landscapes are never static — they carry the memory of deep geological time.  

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Charrière pays tribute to this lost ocean while reflecting on the fragile state of today’s marine ecosystems. His Conversations with Nature series includes a collection of photo lithographs capturing coral reefs — luminous, living structures that mirror the prehistoric marine forests that once thrived beneath Champagne. Using a 19th-century lithographic process, Charrière reimagines these corals through pigments sourced from locally collected limestone and crushed corals. The muted, pale tones evoke the fading vitality of these ecosystems, suggesting both the resilience of nature and its vulnerability in the face of environmental change.  

Beyond these prints, Charrière transforms Ruinart’s crayères into an immersive installation. At 4 Rue des Crayères, a subterranean vault becomes an echo chamber where the memory of the Lutetian Sea collides with the imperilled frequencies of today’s coral reefs. 

Unlike a traditional gallery exhibition, Conversations with Nature is designed as a multi-sensory experience. Through large-scale installations, geological textures, and soundscapes, Charrière invites viewers to engage with Champagne’s terroir in a way that goes beyond observation. The collaboration reinforces Ruinart’s vision of Champagne as a product of time, landscape, and human ingenuity.  

Charrière’s artworks will debut at Art Basel Hong Kong from 28–30 March, before traveling to Miart, Berlin Gallery Weekend, Art Basel Basel, Frieze Seoul, and Art Basel Paris. The installation at 4 Rue des Crayères will open in June 2025, offering an ongoing meditation on the deep time embedded in the landscape of Champagne.

Learn more here.

photography. Alice Jacquemin, Gregoire Machavoine, Raul Cabrera
words. Gennaro Costanzo

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

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Credits

From furniture to fashion, meet Lisbon’s emerging textile artist and sustainability advocate. Hot on the heels of Milan Fashion Week, Portugal threw their hat in the fashion ring with Moda Lisboa: an explosive weekend of fashion, art and design. Guests enjoyed a program of talks, workshops and runways, including the much-anticipated debut of Constança Entrudo’s AW25 collection Second Best.

Second Best was showcased in a dynamic installation format at Lisbon’s Centro Arte Moderna Gulbenkian museum. The space was a nod to Entrudo’s roots as an artist and brought her concept of spotlighting what is typically underappreciated to the fore. “Textile Art has been seen as ‘second best’ for years,” she explains. “We live in a culture that celebrates victory, where meritocracy defines worth, but I wanted to celebrate the ‘silver lining’ of coming second.” Exploring this idea throughout her installation and runway presentation, Entrudo introduced a carousel of textiles designed to mimic velvet or had the sheen of silk, but were ”alternatives” to “traditionally prized materials.” 

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

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Credits

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

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Credits

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

No atelier de Constança Entrudo

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Credits

Entrudo created these textiles in collaboration with RDD Textiles, a knitting factory specializing in sustainable innovation. By brazenly challenging the fact that knits are rarely used in set design or interiors, Entrudo also countered the perception of fabric as merely functional. ”I think it’s relevant to place textile work in contemporary art contexts,” she says. Even the colours used in the collection reflected this concept. “Rather than black and white, we gravitated toward navy and dark grey—tones often overlooked in favor of their more ‘definitive’ counterparts.” 

Since Entrudo graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2018, she has worked for prestigious fashion houses such as Balmain, Peter Pilotto, and Marques’Almeida. While she holds an impressive roster of fashion-oriented experience under her belt, the artist’s passion is rooted in textile art. “Textiles are more than just fabrics to me,” she explains. “They are living mediums that respond to movement, space, and light.” Applying her striking vision to furniture, sculpture and product design, her work is about “pushing the boundaries of fabric — not just in how it’s made, but also in how it’s experienced.”

After graduation, the artist returned to Lisbon to find a gap in the way design and production interacted in Portugal. Despite the country’s rich history in textile manufacturing, she felt that it lacked the close collaboration between designers and technicians. Thus, in 2019, she established her own design studio with a new model of design production. Namely, one that fosters close collaboration between designers and factory workers. The artist’s design studio in Lisbon plays host to her team’s material research and artisanal craftsmanship. Since its inception, the studio’s work with local artisans and factory technicians has enabled Entrudo to create new, sustainable textiles using recycled materials and upcycled fabrics.

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Taking inspiration from her homeland, Madeira, the Portuguese creative injects splashes of vivid pigment and eccentric motifs into her work. There is the hand painted Invertebrate Visitors soft sculpture series, made in collaboration with SOFTROCK studio. As well as pepto-bismol pink (un)woven shirts, silver bow earrings, crochet tunics and a jacquard knit Trompe L’Oeil Dress exposing a nude body- but not the wearer’s. It’s no wonder that Entrudo’s garments have been stylists’ first port-of-call for an array of sunkissed colourful magazine shoots. 

With a deep-rooted belief in the intersection of art, sustainability, and functionality, the artist elevates textiles beyond their conventional use. Her signature (un)woven technique, for instance, is a compelling process which bonds recycled polyester yarns to create distinctive, tactile textiles. This method not only challenges traditional notions of fabric construction but also promotes sustainability by incorporating leftover fabrics and waste materials into the design process. Entrudo’s work, therefore, isn’t just about creating beautiful textiles—it’s about reimagining how materials can be used and reused, contributing to a more sustainable fashion ecosystem.

Through her work, Entrudo is showing the world that fabric is not just a backdrop to fashion—it is fashion in its most elemental form. Entrudo invited her Moda Lisboa audience to take a closer look at the fabric of our lives. The call to action was clear: Now is the time to appreciate the artistry behind the materials that shape our world.

words. Raegan Rubin