Art Cologne is the world’s oldest art fair and will be celebrating its 49th edition this coming week. This city and fair is seeped with art history and ArtRabbit had the pleasure to ask the fair’s Director, Daniel Hug about the fair and where to discover emerging art within the city.
Q: How would you describe the Cologne art scene to someone who has never visited?
DH: A perfect combination of established and totally new. We have historically important and established big name commercial galleries like Michael Werner, Karsten Greve, Rafael Jablonka, leading contemporary galleries like Gisela Capitain and Daniel Buchholz, and quite recently a whole new generation of galleries has blossomed, including galleries like Markus Luettgen, Jan Kaps, Natalia Hug, Berthold Pott, Clages and Warhus Rittershaus. Also world-class Museums like the Ludwig, the Kolumba and a fantastic Kunstverein.
Q: Can you talk a bit about how COLLABORATIONS, your partnership with New Art Dealer’s Association (NADA) came about? Also, can you name two projects you are excited to see at this year’s fair?
DH: COLLABORATIONS came about through our collaboration with New York's New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), with whom we have been collaborating for four years now. At first NADA held a fair within the fair proper of Art Cologne, then over the years we tailored it to fit the needs of galleries today, also to encourage collaborative projects between galleries.
Q: For the visitor that is only in town for a few days, where should they go to discover young emerging artists and gallery spaces?
DH: There are great young galleries all over Cologne, but especially in the Belgian Quarter, galleries like CLAGES, recent Berlin transplant Markus Luettgen, Natalia Hug, Jan Kaps, Philipp von Rosen, Schmidt Handrup, Martinez, Marion Scharmann, are all within walking distance from each other. Also, the gallery house An der Schanz 1A, has interesting young galleries like Warhus Rittershaus, Berthold Pott and KUK.
Q: What is a piece of Cologne art history that might not be commonly known?
DH: I am always surprises that many don't know that Duesseldorf is basically a Stones throw from Cologne, 20 minutes from Station to Station by train, or a 25 minute Taxi ride. Duesseldorf has an amazingly intense and booming artscene, galleries like Sies + Hoeke, Hans Mayer, Konrad Fischer, and also a new generation of galleries like Kadel Wilborn, Linn Luehn, Max Mayer, VAN HORN, Off Vendome, and great off-spaces like , "Between Arrival and Departure", Capri, or "Studio for Propositional Cinema".
Art Cologne, 16 - 19 April
PV 15 April 2015, 4 - 8pm
www.artcologne.de
Image: Mounir Fatmi, Evolution or Death – Phoebe, 2014, Pigment print, 205 x 137 cm, Galerie conrads, Düsseldorf, (c) VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2015
Are you in Cologne this coming weekend? Here are more venues worth a visit.
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