Touching all
the senses

The word gallery originally came from the Italian galleria, meaning a long covered walkway. t.a.s.© is also a gallery.

A gallery for contemporary art, which displays art and design that blend with the passion of the founders, Julian Epok and Christoph Pliessnig, to share their love for aesthetic style and enthusiasm for young, fresh art projects. In the process, immer­sed in paintings, sculptures and installations, they expand the definition of a gallery to take in a space for universal artistic experiences that spans dance, ­music and high-end cuisine. 

Is this how the galleries of the future will be? A conversation with Julian and Christoph.

t.a.s.© is a contemporary art gallery. A 360-degree art project. A place where fine vintage champagne meets young, fresh art. A … well, let’s find some more genre-defying descriptions. What exactly is t.a.s.©?

Christoph Pliessnig

Very well said! Indeed, t.a.s.© is a lot of things under one roof, but most of all, it is a feeling we want to transmit. 360 means that we want to touch our guests on as many levels as possible and take them with us on a journey of finding meaning in arts and design, tastes and smells, movement and music. Boundaries in a concept like this are important, especially to focus and define what you want to bring to the ­table, but we wanted this project to be a free space to express, create and share with the world.

Also, we want to give t.a.s.© room to evolve. I love to bring up the example of the late lamented Colette concept store in Paris. I would walk in there in the early 2000s and dive into the pure bliss of creation. It was basically a Disneyland for young designers and artists. The way they merged so many forms of art in such a gentle way!

That was before the whole Pinterest and Instagram thing, so you were still actually sharing your interests with people right there, having a conversation. At the end you wouldn’t just walk out with a shopping bag: you would walk out with the feeling of being part of a creative family, a family in which people share their unique passion for innovation and style in a deep and sensual way. 

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Which of you was the first to propose setting up a gallery, and why?

Julian Epok

To be honest, in the beginning it wasn’t planned to open a physical gallery space. Chris and I met at one of my studio dinner parties in Vienna. We had a long conversation about the art scene and where it was going, and came to the conclusion that there was definitely room for more innovation and fire. Again, it was very much about the energy and the will to take something to the next level.

So we decided to elevate the dinner parties on an international level and bring more people from different fields together, but also bring design and art closer together. Having an actual physical space that’s open to the public was simply a natural decision we both took when the project was growing. It’s a closer and more direct way to inspire people. People go from just walking past minding their own business to suddenly entering a new dimension.

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