Art Season Opens on the Rhine

For the first time, ART COLOGNE hosts a sundowner for the DC Open.

The art season along the Rhine commences with the renowned DC Open. This collaborative effort between galleries based in Cologne and Düsseldorf, showcasing their artists over a long weekend in early September, is now in its fifteenth year. For art collectors, this event is firmly marked on the calendar, while art enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the exciting gallery exhibitions.

This year, ART COLOGNE joined in on the camaraderie of the DC Open, hosting gallery owners, collectors, and art aficionados for a delightful sundowner on the ter-race of the Flora in Cologne. On a gorgeous late summer day, a diverse audience ga-thered to engage in lively conversations while sipping rosé champagne, drinking Kölsch beer, and indulging in a delectable flying buffet as they discussed the art-filled weekend.

One of the prominently debated subjects was the exhibition titled „Animal Totem + NFT“ at Philipp von Rosen’s. The gallery owner from Cologne elucidated why the works of South Korean artist Cody Choi, which he was exhibiting, went beyond being mere digital byproducts of traditional art. He also discussed his vision for the future of NFT art. Also many guests were impressed from the new paintings by Karin Kneffel, that were shown in Düsseldorf’s Schönewald gallery. The sought-after painter has created intimate portraits of late Gothic Madonna sculptures whe-re she separates Baby Jesus from Mary.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt collector Christian Strenger shared his enthusiasm about the prospect of the Wolfgang Hahn Award going to Belgian artist Francis Alÿs, whose work he has collected over the years.

Amidst the bustling crowd were notable figures, including museum directors Ulrike Groos from Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Petra Hesse (MAK Köln), Susanne Titz from Museum Abteiberg Mönchengladbach and Sebastian Baden (Schirn); the entrepre-neurial couple Peter and Renate Jungen; Cologne’s cultural head Stefan Charles; tra-de fair director Gerald Böse; gallery owners Thomas Rehbein and Sylvia Stulz-Rehbein, Christian Nagel and Saskia Draxler, Michael and Nadia Cosar, Linn Lühn, Sandro Parrotta, collectors Max and Corina Krawinkel; Art Cologne directors Daniel Hug and Benjamin Agert; and artists Alex Wissel, Filip Rybkowski, Claudia Pagès, Ul-rich Lamsfuß, Claire Morgan, Annabelle Harty, and Martin Boyce.