ROTTERDAM.- The nineteenth edition of Art Rotterdam forms the hub of Art Rotterdam Week, an annual festival of contemporary art, design and architecture. It is an excellent moment to visit Art Rotterdam, for an exploratory look at the latest developments in the visual arts. Not only because of its enormous diversity but also because of the exciting presentations of both young and renowned galleries, as an art lover you should not miss Art Rotterdam.

Renowned curators
New, this year, is the Commonities section, after a design by Lorenzo Benedetti. This well-known Dutch exhibition maker forms combinations of artists who have similarities in terms of materials and / or themes: "The artistic practice nowadays is to develop more connections through analysis, and to apply different techniques and media. That is why it is especially interesting to find the second layer and see what artists have in common ". Art Rotterdam Projections shows video works in a darkened space of 700 m2. A unique event, according to the energetic, promising curator from Paris, Martha Kirszenbaum: "It happens rarely that an art fair reserves so much room for moving images". Special attention-grabbers are the latest works by Turner-Prize winner Laure Prouvost and the British Juliette Blightman.

Fairytale tree and Sunset
Open Air, curated by Niekolaas Lekkerkerk, shows large-scale, sometimes poetic works of art. The eye-catcher is the 8 meter high fairytale tree, Face Freedom, by the young artist Anne de Vries. This tree, inspired by the world of the internet and produced with the latest techniques, occupies a prominent place at the entrance of Art Rotterdam. Another impressive contribution is the work of Yair Callender. Lekkerkerk: "Callender has constructed a monumental stage for the setting sun, a project that is both cinematic, poetic and sculptural in nature and an ode to the heroic conditions of the universe".

Stage for your artists
Collectors of young art can visit the New Art Section where young galleries present a number of solos of upcoming talent. Curator Patrick Haas has high expectations: "I look forward to the solos of Jessica Lajard (Irene Laub Gallery, Brussels), Mary-Audrey Ramirez (Martinetz, Cologne), Malte Masemann (Tobias Naehring, Leipzig) and Sofia Goscinski (Unttld Contemporary, Vienna) All four of these artists show a very interesting twist in their presentation ". Prospects & Concepts, organized by the Mondriaan Fund, will be curated this year by Stijn Huijts, director of the Bonnefanten museum Maastricht. For the 79 visual artists who received a Young Talent Work Contribution in 2016, this collaboration with an experienced museum man is a unique and educational experience.

Galleries in the former coffee and tobacco factories
In the Main Section, divided over the old coffee and tobacco factories of Van Nelle, all Dutch top galleries are represented again this year. Worth mentioning, with regard to other countries, is the participation of Michel Rein who has galleries in both Paris and Brussels. Last year, this gallery successfully made its debut at Art Rotterdam. The gallery of Michael Zink from Germany is also present for the second time. Regulars from abroad in this section are the Base Alpha galleries from Antwerp, Barbara Zeiler from Zurich, Martin Kudlek from Cologne and Pablo's Birthday from New York.