Stefan von Bartha on Transforming the Art Industry, Family Business Innovation and Empowering Change

Stefan von Bartha (b. 1981) is the Director and owner of von Bartha. He is, with his wife Hester Koper, bringing the gallery into a new era with its dynamic art program at its two locations in Basel and Copenhagen, alongside its dedicated online presence. He became Director of the gallery in 2008 and has been responsible for keeping the DNA of one of the longest-running galleries while pushing it into the future. Now in its second generation, his vision for von Bartha is to be a space for inspiration and dialogue that values art for its critical and cultural importance. As the son of Margareta and Miklos von Bartha, he grew up in a home that also functioned as the gallery. Here, he was surrounded by creatives who had come to define the landscape of 20th-and 21st-century art. At 18, he curated his first exhibition at the gallery with a loan of 800 Swiss francs from his parents. The exhibition consisted of 420 vintage space toys, of which he sold 419. With a passion for rarities, he established the vintage boutique Designago, which sells rare design collectibles. His private collection includes objects from the Swiss manufacturer Mewa, vases from the Danish glass factory Holmegaard, and a collection of children‘s chairs. Stefan’s passion and expertise are also expressed through his private art collection, including significant works by Miriam Cahn, Los Carpinteros, Julian Charrière, Nathalie du Pasquier, Helmut Federle, Hulda Guzman, Renée Levi, Verena Loewensberg, Richard Paul Lohse, Enzo Mari, Sirous Namazi, Remy Zaugg and artists represented by von Bartha. He studied Modern and Contemporary Art at Christie‘s in New York and has worked at Galerie Nordenhake in Berlin and Sotheby‘s in Zurich. He is on the board of Friends of Liste Art Fair, Enter Art Fair and the Friends of the Swiss Institute. He is, together with Hester Koper, Friends and Patrons of Fondation Beyeler, Kunsthalle Basel, Kunstmuseum Basel, and Philaneo–a fund
for Art. He lives in Basel and Copenhagen.

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