After ten years, VUNU concluded its chapter as a gallery, continuing as
a nonprofit platform. In April 2026, Nico Bernath founded nico bernath,
an eponymous commercial gallery based in Bratislava and Vienna.

Read more here: From VUNU to nico bernath: A New Name Above the Door

Founded in 2016 by Nico Bernath together with friends, VUNU began as an independent project space driven by artists and community. Its first home was a squat in the center of Košice, Slovakia, a long-abandoned building that had become a meeting point for artists and collectives through the community center KLUB. What began as Bernath's bachelor project turned into a platform for young artists, mostly students and recent graduates from the Košice art academy.

Later, the gallery went nomadic, taking over empty department stores and forgotten urban spaces. These large-scale temporary exhibitions became part of VUNU's identity: collaborative, site-responsive, inseparable from the city itself.

In 2018, VUNU found a new home on the Main Street in Košice, continuing to develop its program and present both Slovak and international emerging artists. A new chapter began in 2021 with the gallery's relocation to the Kunsthalle Košice complex. VUNU Košice focused on expanded exhibition formats, site-specific installations, intermedia, and performance-based practices.

In 2024, VUNU started its new chapter and opened its second location in Bratislava, establishing its first commercial branch and evolving into a hybrid gallery model that balanced curatorial projects with artist representation and market engagement. In 2025, the gallery expanded internationally with a third space in Vienna, marking a new stage in its development and strengthening its presence in the Central European art scene.

VUNU actively participated in art fairs, presenting its program and represented artists on a broader international stage. Notable presentations included Feria Material in Mexico City in 2026, with works by Andrej Dúbravský and Kanrec Sakul, and Vienna Contemporary in 2025, where the gallery presented a solo project by Natália Síkorová in the ZONE1 section, awarded the Bildrecht Solo Booth Award.

After ten years, VUNU concluded its chapter as a gallery, continuing as a nonprofit platform. In April 2026, Nico Bernath founded nico bernath, an eponymous commercial gallery based in Bratislava and Vienna.