The Galerie nächst St. Stephan represents a living tradition of exploring the art of the Modern era. It has been located, since the 1920s, in the same place in the center of Vienna at Grünangergasse.
With the exhibition Zeichen, Fluten, Signale - neukonstruktiv und parallel (Signs, Waves, Signals—Reconstructive and Parallel), Rosemarie Schwarzwälder presented a program in 1984, which featured basic elements that have proven relevant in numerous solo and group exhibitions up to the present. International positions of abstraction and concept-based art in the areas of painting, sculpture, installations, photography, and video have maintained a continuous presence in the program of the gallery.
"It became taken for granted that nothing relating to art could be taken for granted any longer."—T.W. Adorno
Modern and Contemporary Art today needs discourse. Organizing symposia and independent publications is part of the gallery's self-image.
Issues of the development of art, international cultural comparisons, and the validity of aesthetic criteria have been addressed in numerous publications.
The gallery program seeks aesthetic discussion and analysis. Rather than being avoided, contrasts are used to stimulate aesthetic self-reflection.
The gallery provides consultative support for the establishment and expansion of private and public collections. Close collaboration with international artists, collectors, and museums has been a practice for over two decades. This forms the professional foundation for the gallery work undertaken by Rosemarie Schwarzwälder and her team.
