"It just keeps getting better at the Art Cologne," said Arne Ehmann from the Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery (Paris/Salzburg). It was also a great success for the David Zwirner Gallery (New York/London), which was happy to welcome visitors from Italy and the Benelux countries. "The Art Cologne offers good quality in all areas," Director Veronique Ansorge praised. "Cologne is always good for us," Bjerggaard Bo from Copenhagen adds, who was able to welcome collectors and museum professionals to his booth.
The final report of the ART COLOGNE was so overwhelmingly positive for the exhibitors. And Carsten Greve Gallery told us in a nutshell: "On Wednesday, you could already feel the excitement in the air – and that wasn't always the case in the past few years. We are very satisfied with how it has developed." He then added: "Our opening in the city was very successful too." Meaning: it was almost sold out. And Marietta Clages Gallery explains: "In Cologne, you really continue selling until Sunday, the very last moment of the fair." Her radiant face showed us, however, that Marietta certainly didn't have to wait until the last moment.
New items and classics alike were presented at the fair. Multilayered, inspiring and surprisingly not very heavy on photography. What the 209 galleries and art dealers from 23 countries had to offer on three hall levels of Koelnmesse – works ranging from classic modernism, post-war art and contemporary art – convinced the approximately 56,000 visitors. And Daniel Hug, director of ART COLOGNE, shares his satisfied summery: "The new concept has worked perfectly." What's meant is the hall stucture: Hall level 1 had modern and post-war art, hall level 2 had contemporary art, and on the hall level 3, approximately thirty galleries of the "New Contemporaries" were together with about the same number of members of the international "New Art Dealers Alliance" (Nada).
We got stuck at the Salt Dress, which was displayed at the booth of MARLBOROUGH CONTEMPORARY from London. The Israeli artist Sigalit Landau documented the transformation of a wedding dress using the saline water of the Dead Sea in her work "Salt Bride" – political, controversial, and absolutely beautiful. And GALLERY HAAS from Zurich had many surprises in store at their booth as well – and is certainly a name you will be hearing much more about on GoSee; we were very impressed.
Art Cologne is an art fair held annually in Cologne, Germany and was established in 1967 as Kölner Kunstmarkt. It is regarded as the world's oldest art fair of its kind. The fair runs for six days and brings together galleries from more than 20 countries at the Cologne Exhibition Center. It is open to the public and attracts about 60,000 visitors. artcologne.de
