All art roads lead to Cologne

19/04/2018

By the 52nd year of its existence, ART COLOGNE Internationaler Kunstmarkt has surely proved itself as one of the pivotal art fairs of Europe. Having existed long before volumes of fairs active now, its reputatuion as the annual “must” for galleries, curators and artists remains undiminished.

Perhaps that has partly to do with the unusual openness that ART COLOGNE embodies: while the bulk of participating galleries and exhibitors still consists of the most prestigious international players, a large space at the event is given to new and relatively less-known galleries. Altogether the fair brings together around 200 galleries from all over the world that represent about 2000 artists. In the Hall 11, which is the main venue of the Koelnmesse facilities, the participants of the fair are divided into three levels. The first, or the ground level is dedicated to renowned galleries representing and selling Modern and Post-war art. The second, or middle, level brings together exhibitors of a renowned contemporary art, while the upper (third) level, called NEUMARKT, is a space dedicated for “newcomers”: galleries and exhibitors that are in the market for less than ten years. That way ART COLOGNE becomes a meeting point between galleries that have already established their niche in the global art scene, and those that have yet to prove themselves. The Baltic States in this year's fair are represented by Galerija Alma from Riga and Galerija Vartai from Vilnius.

Today, on April 19, ART COLOGNE opens for public. We offer to have a look at the Arterritory photo report of this significant event.