Renger van den Heuvel’s farewell to Viennese Gallerist Georg Kargl, who passed away yesterday. 

When I arrived in Vienna in 2012 I pretty soon got to know the protagonists to have shaped the Viennese contemporary art scene in the last decades. Georg Kargl was one of them. In a first meeting, together with colleagues, he showed me his character full stop. Next time I went alone. It was the start of many conversations.

To the surprise of some people I really liked to meet Georg and talk with him. Yes, he was fierce in his criticism, and also straightforward in his praise, and what should be done better.

I learned a lot from Georg Kargl over the years. The most important: there is a gallery, there are galleries and there is something like Standort Wien.

A ‘last conversation’ is very often a construct afterwards. We met a couple of weeks ago. Your bureau had moved already to the back of the gallery space. Everything was said. Thank you, Georg. You will be remembered. Rest In Peace.

Renger van den Heuvel