December 2003 - Nr. 12
Art Cologne 2003 commences
TWIG -
Over 60,000 visitors got a firsthand look at the international art trade at the 37th annual art fair in Cologne, Germany, which has become one of the world’s leading point of sales for modern art.Hosting some of the world’s leading modern and contemporary art galleries, the fair featured over 250 galleries from 20 countries, 148 of them from Germany and 13 from the United States.
Experts noted the extreme internationality of this year’s event, which has attracted art buyers from many nations after the fair’s recent makeover to include more services, more galleries, and better communication between dealers as well as the physical restructuring of the fairgrounds.
Just a few weeks before the fair, German-American art expert Gérard Goodrow was appointed director to enliven the fair’s image. In 2002, the fair attracted a mere 8,000 visitors, leading Goodrow to say, "We have prevailed through the depressive atmosphere last year."
For the first time, fair organizers invited around 400 of its most important collectors and paid for their accommodations at the prestigious Kölner Hotel. And by the start of the fair, a gallery in Dortmund had already registered the sale of two Emil Nolde watercolors, including a "Double Portrait" for 130,000 Euros ($150,000).
Perhaps the most expensive painting to be offered at the fair was Henri Matisse’s "Aneomones au Miroir," (photo) which was offered by a London gallery for 4.3 million Eur ($4.9 million) just two years after it was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York.
The fair’s Art Cologne Prize in the amount of 10,000 Eur ($11,400) was given to Werner Spies, the long-time director of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, who is known for having brought countless world-class exhibits to the museum, including one on Picasso’s life’s work and another on German painter Max Ernst.
Would-be collectors were welcome at the fair and were directed to pieces for the beginning art aficionado as part of the "affordable art fair" concept that was started in London and New York. Duplicates of paper shopping bags produced in East Germany and stamped by artist Joseph Beuys were just one item available at this year’s fair that fit the price range of the novice collector. The bags, called "Economic Values," are all signed and numbered by the artist and can be bought for a modest $350.
Besides the gallery stands, 19 up-and-coming artists were chosen by a jury to be presented at this year’s fair. Parallel to Art Cologne 2003, the first art film biennale showcased art films from around the world, an addition to the fair which is meant to build on its resonance in the art community.
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