Event Item: 00130

Salzburg World Fine Art Fair

Fair: 8th Aug 2008 to 17th Aug 2008

Source: http://www.salzburg-faf.com

The second edition of Salzburg World Fine Art Fair (SWFAF) opens at The Residenz, one of the city's most beautiful Baroque buildings. The fair coincides with the Salzburg Festival, the celebrated music and drama festival held each summer in Salzburg, Austria. The Salzburg Festival is a star event with a prestigious programme of events designed to attract music lovers from all over the world.

Salzburg World Fine Art Fair promises to be a major attraction to collectors, connoisseurs and art lover, alike. More than 30 of Europe's best-known dealers are participating. They include: Albrecht Neuhaus (Würzburg); Konrad O. Bernheimer (Munich/ London/ Hof, Salzburg); Röbbig (Munich); Dr. Nöth (Ansbach); Kovacek (Vienna); Wienerroither & Kohlbacher (Vienna); Salis & Vertes (Salzburg/ St. Moritz); and B. & B. Steinitz (Paris).

They will be joined by fair newcomers: Helga Matzke (Grünwald, Munich); Dr. Stefan Brenske (Munich); Christian Eduard Franke (Bamberg) and Patrick Kovacs (Vienna). Many of these dealers are regular exhibitors at TEFAF Maastricht (The European Fine Art Fair, Maastricht) and the Paris Biennale des Antiquaires. In addition, numerous dealers from such countries as Italy, France, Monaco, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain and the United States have already expressed interest.

Salzburg World Fine Art Fair is organized by Bruce Lamarche and Teresa Jedina. Art Culture Studio (Geneva) will be supporting them in an advisory capacity. Art Culture Studio organises the much acclaimed Moscow World Fine Art Fair (MWFAF: 28 May to 4 June 2008). The management team is supported by leading figures in Austrian cultural and political life. It also has the support of the Friends of the Salzburg Festival. "At last year's launch of Salzburg World Fine Art Fair we elicited a very positive response from the Festival's public," said Bruce Lamarche. "It's clear the Fair is seen as a tremendous enrichment of the Festival programme." Festival visitors stay an average of four to five days in Salzburg, so Lamarche believes that this gives visitors ample opportunities to dip into the programme of visual and applied arts running parallel with Salzburg's high-calibre programme of musical and drama events.

Salzburg World Fine Art Fair showcases a superb array of rare quality exhibits dating from early cultures to the present day. The rich mix of works of art on view includes fine furniture, porcelain, silver, jewellery, objets d'art, sculpture, works on paper, old master paintings, classical modern art, tapestries, contemporary art and modern design.

Salzburg World Fine Art Fair is staged in the elegant ambience of the Salzburg Residenz. The Residenz was built in 1595-1619 for Erzbischof Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. Two of its most famous rooms play host to the Fair. They are the Audienzsaal - where Mozart performed at the age of six before the Court of Erzbischof Schrattenbach - and the Carabinieri Saal. In this exquisite setting, only thirteen years later - on 12 December 1775 - Mozart performed his Violin Concerto no. 5 in A major K219 ('Turkish'). Today, the Carabinieri Saal is used mainly as a concert hall and theatre. Its ceiling is decorated with impressive frescoes by Martino Altomonte. Painted in 1710, the cycle depicts scenes from the Battle of Granikos (Granicus), Alexander the Great's first major victory over the Persians in 334 BC. The ceiling of the hall is also decorated with allegorical frescoes depicting the Four Elements by the baroque painter Johann Michael Rottmayr. The Saal provides a magnificent ambience for a fine art and antiques fair showcasing museum-quality objects of such extraordinary variety and richness.

The Salzburg Festival. The Salzburg Festival is one the most famous music festivals. It hosts a prestigious programme of musical and drama productions. It attracts annual attendance figures of between 210,000 and 240,000. The Salzburg region is renowned for its hospitality and gastronomic specialities. Salzburg World Fine Art Fair is designed to provide an attractive additional focus for visitors to the Salzburg Festival and a positive enhancement to the Festival programme.

The Residenz, Salzburg, Austria