Review of Art Cologne 2014-2015

Art Cologne is the world’s oldest art fair for modern and contemporary art of the 20th and 21st century. This art fair annually invites approximately 200 international galleries to showcase painting, sculpture, photography, prints, multiples, installations, performance and moving image art. Cologne has a perfect location, since it is situated in the middle of Western Europe, in North Rhine-Westphalia, that has very high concentrations of business and industry – and art collectors. Throughout its rich history, Art Cologne art fair has profiled as one of the leading art fairs in the world that largely influenced art market developments.

The origins of Art Cologne as a trade fair for classic modern art, post-war art and contemporary art go back to the year 1967. Kunstmarkt Köln ’67 was launched on 15 September 1967 in a historic Cologne building “The Gürzenich”. In medieval times it served as an arena for festivities, banquets and dances. Later, it served as a merchants’ hall.

The launch of the Kunstmarkt Köln ’67 was to have a profound impact on the international art market. The founders of the new fair were Cologne-based gallerists – Hein Stünke and Rudolf Zwirner. Their project was sparked by the urgency of the need to put new life into the lacklustre art market in West Germany. Although the immediate post-war period saw a tremendous revival in art and radical changes to public attitudes to modern art, the art market in West Germany faltered.

Art Cologne brings together 200 leading international galleries from over 20 countries presenting a broad offering of modern and contemporary works in all price segments and movements by more than 2,000 artists. ART COLOGNE presents art lovers and collectors with the most varied offering segments, including the GALLERIES section with modern and postwar art and extending to the modern and contemporary art of established galleries.

Today’s Art Cologne as a fair for classical modernism, post-war art and contemporary art, one of the most important international addresses for exceptional and high quality art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Around 200 leading international galleries from more than 20 countries come together annually and present a broad offering of modern and contemporary works in all price segments and movements by more than 2,000 artists. A supporting programme of exhibition openings and events in museums and institutions throughout the Rhineland, as well as integrated services.

Art Cologne 2015
Art Cologne 2015 extends over three halls for the first time. Hall 11.1 is dedicated to Modern and Postwar Art, hall 11.2. has its focus on Contemporary Art, and hall 11.3. features young galleries in the New Contemporaries section,, 29 young galleries in the New Contemporaries section encounter 32 participants of the Collaborations section introduced in 2014, and the Collaborations section in cooperation with the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), and curated projects such as Film Cologne.

The participants of the 49th Art cologne are 200 galleries and art dealers from 23 countries from around the world, they provide a high quality overview of progressive art from the formative epochs of Modern art, Post War art and Contemporary Art. The Collaborations Section, newly established in 2014, which is jointly organized by Art Cologne and the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), is presenting this year 32exhibitors, who will present their collaborative projects in 22 booths.

Art Cologne is pleased to present a very special exhibition organized by three Hungarian galleries, ACB, Kisterem and Vintage. Bookmarks section presents a survey of Conceptual art from Hungary from 1960 until today. This year the Art Fair extends over three halls for the first time. One can encounter the great names in Contemporary Art at the stands of international galleries. German artists are well represented at the fair Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz and the recently deceased Günther Förg. At the New Contemporaries Section are presented 23 Galleries. At the same with the title “Alibis” is presented at the Museum Ludwig a retrospective of Sigmar Polke.

A fascinating supporting program will accompany this year’s Art Cologne. Some 30 collectors, curators and art experts from Europe, the US, China, Africa, South America and the Gulf States will gather at Art Congress Cologne, to discuss the international art market and to explore current developments. Art Cologne is also hosting the second edition of Film Cologne, where high quality films and videos of artists working in Flanders and Brussels (Belgium) will be presented, curated by Prof. Philippe Pirotte, Rektor of Städelschule and Fabian Schöneich, curator at Portikus, (Frankfurt a.M.). Art Cologne Talks Lounge will be organized every day during the art fair, with amazing speakers and interesting topics.

Being one of the leading art fairs in the world, the list of participating galleries and artists of Art Cologne 2015 is truly impressive. The art fair is composed of several sectors. Galleries sites established galleries. New Contemporaries represents galleries founded in the 21st century. New Positions offers solo-presentations of outstanding young artists.

Some of the highlights of Modern and Postwar art include: work by Andy Warhol with his Mona Lisa (four times), presented by Klaus Benden gallery (Cologne); Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, presented by Henze & Ketterer & Triebold (Bern); Richard Lindner and Daniel Spoerri, presented by LEVY (Hamburg); Kazuo Shiraga, presented by Whitestone Gallery (Tokyo), and many other masters of modern and postwar art.

On the booths of galleries focused on contemporary art, the visitors may find works by Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor and Martin Kippenberger, presented by Carolina Nitsch (New York); Florian Meisenberg, Olaf Metzel and David Renggli, presented by Wentrup (Berlin); Georg Baselitz and Imi Knoebel, presented by Thaddaeus Ropac (Paris/Salzburg), and many others.

Art Cologne 2014
The 48th edition of Art Cologne 2014 approximately 200 international galleries to showcase painting, sculpture, photography, prints, multiples, installations, performance and moving image art in the city of Cologne, cultural center of the Rhineland region and beyond.

Art Cologne 2014, introducing a new section titled ‘Collaborations’. Conceived in association with the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), the section will present booths either shared by two galleries or attributed to one gallery presenting a collaboration between two artists. The fair will also be premiering ‘Film Cologne’, a section dedicated to moving image works by artists exhibited at the fair – including Christian Jankowski, Dieter Meier and Larissa Sanssour – which will be screened on site as well as broadcasted live for twenty-four hours on German cable television and online.

Part of the usual programme includes ‘New Contemporaries’, a selection of young galleries (established after 2003) showing two to four artists, from which a jury will select one gallery that will exhibit at the next fair’s edition for free. The ‘New Positions’ sponsorship programme will be running as well, in which 19 younger artists, including one of our 2014 FutureGreat artists, Rayyane Tabet, will receive extra floor space on their galleries’ stands to present work. From these, one artist will be given a solo show at Cologne’s Artothek space.

A special exhibition will also unveil some of curator Kasper König’s archives, presenting a selection of images and text documents spanning the 1960s and ’70s. Beyond the fair, the Museum Ludwig will be showing sculptor and architect Oscar Tuazon as well as French artist Pierre Huyghe (opening 11 April), while the Koelnischer Kunstverein will present films by the artist duo Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg.

Art Cologne
The Art Cologne is one of the oldest art fairs in the world for contemporary art. It takes place every spring on the Koelnmesse site in Cologne-Deutz. It was launched in 1967 on the initiative of the gallery owners Hein Stünke and Rudolf Zwirner as the “ Cologne Art Market ” in Gürzenich, Cologne.

Eighteen galleries took part in the first Cologne Art Market in September 1967. With 15,000 visitors and a turnover of one million German marks, the event in Gürzenich in Cologne was a great success. The organizer was the association of progressive German art dealers founded by the founding fathers Hein Stünke (Der Spiegel gallery), Rudolf Zwirner and five other colleagues.

In 1968 the fair moved to the more spacious Josef Haubrich Kunsthalle, which existed until 2001. Additional galleries were admitted, including from abroad, in order to prevent a competitive event with international participation in neighboring Düsseldorf. In 1974 the fair, called Cologne Art Market from 1970, moved to the Rheinhallen in Cologne-Deutz. The organization was transferred to the Cologne fair company. In 1975 the name of the fair was changed to “International Art Market” (IKM). For the first time, the Art Cologne Prize was awarded in cooperation with the Federal Association of German Galleries (BVDG)awarded. The fair took place alternately in Cologne and Düsseldorf. In 1984 the fair was given a new name for the last time: the IKM became Art Cologne, which has only taken place in Cologne since then.

In 2007 Art Cologne was postponed from the traditional autumn date to spring. Cologne Fine Art, also launched by today’s organizer Koelnmesse, will now take place in autumn. The director of Art Cologne has been the US art dealer Daniel Hug since 2008. He succeeded Gérard Goodrow, who had been in office since 2003.

The “Art Market Cologne” has had competition in its own environment since the beginning of 1967. As all galleries that applied were never allowed to take part, there were always alternative offers in the context of Art Cologne: 1967 “Demonstrative” Cologne, 1968 “Prospect 68” Düsseldorf, 1969 “Neumarkt der Künste” Cologne, 1971/72 “Internationale Art and information fair “Düsseldorf.

In 1992 the Cologne gallery owner Christian Nagel launched the counter-fair “Unfair”; In 1995, Nagel was one of the co-founders of the Art Forum Berlin, an expressly competing event. ART.FAIR has been establishing itself as a counter-fair since 2003. In 2007, three more new art fairs started at the same time: the “List Cologne”, the “Tease Art Fair” and the “dc duesseldorf contemporary”.

In 1994 the Society for Modern Art at the Museum Ludwig awarded the Wolfgang Hahn Prize, named after the collector and chief restorer of the Museum Ludwig, for the first time during the fair. In 2006 Rudolf Zwirner, co-founder of Art Cologne, received this award.