13 June 2025  A Grand Hotel Comes Back to LifeFrom June 26 to 29, 2025, the Austrian mountain town of Bad Gastein will celebrate the opening of sommer.frische.kunst, a festival that brings together the international art scene in the Salzburg Alps. One of the most anticipated events of the sommer.frische.kunst opening weekend is the debut of art:badgastein x POSITIONS—a collaboration between the Berlin-based art fair and the alpine festival—set in a place that seems to have stepped out of cinematic memory: the long-closed Grand Hotel Astoria.For ten days, from June 27 to July 6, 2025, the former luxury hotel will host a curated selection of contemporary and modern art in a setting where faded glamour and alpine stillness blur the boundaries between past and present. The crumbling corridors, original Belle Époque interiors, and steep mountainous backdrop might evoke the atmosphere of the second season of Nine Perfect Strangers, which was filmed largely in Salzburg—but not in Bad Gastein or at the Astoria Hotel. Still, the cinematic parallels are hard to miss: a grand building with faded glory, surrounded by majestic alpine views, becomes the backdrop for a psychological and aesthetic journey. If the landscape and architecture feel familiar, it's more than a visual echo—it's part of a broader alpine allure. A Fair in Filmic SurroundingsFounded in 2014, POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair has earned its reputation as a platform for independent artistic perspectives. With regular editions in Berlin, Vienna, Basel, and Hamburg—including the well-known paper positions salons—the fair is known for revitalizing the art-viewing experience. Its excursion into the Austrian Alps brings a new dimension to its mission. The Grand Hotel Astoria, built in the early 20th century, has been largely uninhabited for years. Protected as a historic monument, it will open its doors only briefly for this occasion. Each gallery will occupy one or more rooms, turning them into intimate stages for contemporary art.Participating galleries include AOA;87 (Berlin), Galerie Benden & Ackermann (Cologne/Düsseldorf), Collectors Room (Hamburg), Galerie Carolyn Heinz (Hamburg), Yvonne Hohner Contemporary (Karlsruhe), Galerie Holthoff (Hamburg), Jarmuschek+Partner (Berlin), and mianki.gallery (Berlin). Vienna is also represented by Zeller van Almsick, showing works by Carsten Fock, Charlotte Klobassa, Xenia Lesniewski, and others. While the specific works to be shown in Bad Gastein have not yet been announced, the participating galleries offer insight into their artistic programs—for instance, Zeller van Almsick publishes on its website works by Carsten Fock that were presented last year in the exhibition 'Psyche/Landschaft'. Known for his gestural, emotionally charged compositions, Fock explores the interplay between inner states and impressions of nature. His abstract paintings, shaped by clouds of color and shifting moods, evoke landscapes that blur into psychic space, balancing beauty with psychological depth to create contemplative works where perception meets emotion. More Than a Fair: Art in the Alpine ZeitgeistThe inclusion of POSITIONS Berlin at Bad Gastein's sommer.frische.kunst marks a significant moment for the 15-year-old festival. Known for mixing artist residencies, public installations, and exhibitions in unconventional spaces, the festival invites both established and emerging artists to engage with the alpine landscape in experimental ways. Besides the art fair at Astoria, the opening weekend will feature public performances, a wall mural unveiling, a tribute to architect Gerhard Garstenauer, and curated exhibitions like "Welcome Back!" at the town's historic power plant. For those looking to stay informed, the full program continues until August 31, and regularly updated details are available via artbadgastein.com.Art in Bad Gastein is not simply exhibited—it's embedded. In landscape, in architecture, in history—and for over a week in the summer, a hotel briefly wakes up to host it all. Image: The image features two photographs of the historic Hotel Astoria in Bad Gastein. One shows the grand Belle Époque building from a distance, nestled amid alpine surroundings, while the other captures a closer architectural detail of the hotel’s façade. This venue will host the art fair art:badgastein X POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, taking place from June 27 to July 6, 2025 during the art festival sommer.frische.kunst 2025. |