textile art is never ‘second best’ | a conversation with designer constança entrudo

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

From Dubai to London, the gallery is staying true to its mission to launch talented contemporary artists into the world-at-large. As the Middle East continues to expand its presence in the art world, JD Malat Gallery has expanded its own presence from London’s Mayfair to Dubai. In January, the eight year-old gallery opened a new space on the renowned Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. It is marking the move with an inaugural exhibition called Carte Blanche: a celebration of fourteen diverse contemporary artists, including Kojo Marfo, Conrad Jon Godly and Santiago Parra. 

The scale-up was not only on par with the gallery’s ongoing mission to present contemporary art to diverse audiences, but speaks of “the growing appetite for international contemporary art among collectors in the Middle East,” says the gallery’s founder. Indeed, just last year, esteemed Saudi artist Ahmed Mater made headlines with an exhibition at Christie’s auction house, while the Islamic Arts Biennale is continuing to attract droves (running until May 25th). 

While the gallery is making waves in Dubai, its London flagship space on Davies Street is simultaneously hosting an exciting exhibition. Portraits: Through The Looking Glass is a group exhibition that unites twenty-one contemporary artists who are challenging traditional perceptions of portraiture. The exhibition (which draws inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s 1871 novel of the same name) reimagines how humans engage with identity, perception and representation in the modern age.

Using its title as a metaphor, the gallery’s curators have explored the looking glass as more than a reflective surface but a transformative portal. It represents both a mirror of reality and a window into the imagination. This idea has flitted through history, from Narcissus gazing into the reflective pool of Greek mythology, to the introspective self-portraits of Rembrandt. Today, we feel its presence in the surreal representations of identity in contemporary art. 

The participating artists include renowned names like Bernard Buffet, Ian Cumberland, and Thierry Carrier, alongside emerging talents such as Sophie-Yen Bretez, Máté Orr, and Yann Leto. Each artist brings their unique voice to the concept of the looking glass. From realism to dreamlike surrealism and figurative abstraction, they offer viewers fresh perspectives on how portraiture can reflect both individual and collective experiences.

French artist Bernard Buffet combines bold black lines and a restrained color palette to evoke a powerful sense of emotional depth. His signature style, often somber and angular, is emblematic of post-war emotional devastation, making his portraits particularly poignant as we gaze through his ‘looking glass’ and onto ourselves. Similarly, Ian Cumberland’s voyeuristic approach to portraiture explores moments of private introspection. His works remind viewers of the impact of media and surveillance on personal identity; capturing the vulnerability many of us experience in our daily lives. 

In contrast, artists like Sophie-Yen Bretez take a more surrealist approach to portraiture. Her figurative pieces depict dream-like scenes centered around the emotional recovery and identity formation of her characters. Through soft, ethereal works draw the viewer into an imaginary space, inviting them into the provocative depths of abstraction. Meanwhile, Hungarian artist Máté Orr, combines traditional oil painting with contemporary vector graphics to mystifying effect. Similarly, the delicate nihilistic works of South Korean artist Henrik Uldalen encourages viewers to explore the fragility of human existence. Uldalen’s paintings, which often feature solitary figures in ambiguous settings, appear as an invitation to peer into the mirror and consider what is reflected back—both the known and the unknown.

In a rapidly changing world, the exhibition serves as a refreshing reminder that our outlook on life is a malleable creature. It may be affected by our environment and subconscious but our perceptions shift and change with time. Likewise, our identities expand and grow as we do; moulded by our experiences, relationships and desires. Like Alice in Lewis Carrol’s book, we can step through the looking glass and question the seemingly backward elements of our realities and challenge ourselves to look beyond the surface.

photography. Rob Harris 
words. Raegan Rubin