In 1997, Karin Handlbauer founded MEZZANIN in Vienna.
The very simple structure was designed as an independent space for presenting emerging artists. Artists, curators, collectors, and others gathered in the mezzanine space, hence its name. It became one of the nerve centers of the Viennese art scene.
At the request of the artists, Karin Handlbauer’s activities shifted towards those of a young gallery.
In 1999, MEZZANIN was invited to participate in LISTE Basel for the first time. From then on, MEZZANIN took part in the biggest international fairs and built up a solid program. While MEZZANIN has always dedicated a large part of its program to emerging artists whom it promotes on the international scene, it also represents very important artists and supports them in developing their visibility.
One can mention the ties that Karin Handlbauer has continuously maintained with Geta Bratescu, Sturtevant, Anna Jermolaewa, Christopher Williams, Martha Jungwirth, Thomas Bayrle, Peter Kogler, Stephen Prina, and Rudolf Polanszky, among others.
In 2014, MEZZANIN opened a space in Geneva that would become its headquarters. MEZZANIN is currently a member of the Quartier des Bains association and occupies a large space comprising 130m² of exhibition space.
Karin Handlbauer organizes between five and six exhibitions per year in Geneva. She does not hesitate to undertake ambitious projects with independent curators and collaborations with other galleries. Her program is one of the most closely followed in French-speaking Switzerland.

Markus Amm
Karla Black
Sunah Choi
Diego Cibelli
Isabella Ducrot
Michel François
Gregor Hildebrandt
Maureen Kaegi
Renee Levi
Lou Masduraud
Christian Kosmas Mayer
Gianni Motti
Katrin Plavcak
Rudolf Polanszky
Elfie Semotan

Lou Masduraud
@ Paris Internationale Milano

Lou Masduraud’s “Self-portrait as a fountain of you (identity crisis)” is an installation that explores the confusion between self-perception and the experience of others. A fragmented body is depicted in a fictional space resembling a communal bathroom designed as a place of shared intimacy. Through the interplay of materials and the use of copper as a sensitive material similar to reactive skin (sometimes attacked, oxidised or protected by fluids and contact), Lou Masduraud suggests a porosity between social architecture and one’s own body to represent a dissolution of identity as well as the moods and vapours that emanate from it.