Charlotte Zander: Collector, Gallerist, Museum Founder

06–09 November 2025 at ART COLOGNE

The ZADIK | Central Archive for German and International Art Market Studies presents a special exhibition at ART COLOGNE offering fascinating insights into the life and career of Charlotte Zander, recipient of the ART COLOGNE Prize in 1997.

Charlotte Zander (1930–2014) began her path in the art world as a collector. From the mid-1960s onward, she built her collection with works by artists who had not studied at art academies—then referred to as “Naïve Art.” Out of this, she founded the Galerie Charlotte – Gallery for Naïve Art in Munich in 1971, which remained active until 1995. In November 1997, Charlotte Zander, together with Dina Vierny, was awarded the ART COLOGNE Prize. Following her gallery activities, she opened her private museum at Bönnigheim Castle in 1996, where she presented her collection, organized exhibitions, and pursued collaborations with international cultural institutions.

The ZADIK exhibition highlights the milestones of Zander’s life as collector, gallerist, and museum founder. How did Charlotte Zander shape the different roles she assumed throughout her life? How did she work to give visibility to the artistic positions she valued? How did her network of artists and other art-world actors function? What projects, collaborations, and discourses emerged? The exhibition also encourages a critical reflection on historical terms that often carried stigmatizing connotations. And it shows how the Zander Collection carries her legacy into the future.

The exhibition will be presented from 06–09 November 2025 as a special exhibition of ZADIK at ART COLOGNE, Hall 11.1, Booth D-19.

About ZADIK

The ZADIK | Central Archive for German and International Art Market Studies is a research institute of the University of Cologne. It is dedicated to archiving, processing, critically reflecting on, and communicating the history, structures, contexts, and developments of international art systems. Today, the Central Archive holds more than 200 collections from gallerists, art dealers, auction houses, art critics, curators, specialist photographers, and other actors in the art market, with a focus on the period from the early 20th century to the present. Founded in 1992 as the world’s first special archive on the history of the art trade, ZADIK was integrated into the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Cologne in 2020.