COLOGNE.- "Art Cologne holds its position", was the title for the critique of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (16 April 2016) on the 50th edition of the world's oldest trade fair for modern and contemporary art. The International Art Market Cologne did in fact present itself in extraordinarily good shape for its anniversary: more than 60,000 art lovers (2015: around 56,000), including many top collectors, curators and museum people from Germany, Europe and overseas, visited the most important German art fair. "Our high expectations have once again been surpassed“ said Daniel Hug, Director of ART COLOGNE. "The factors for the success of ART COLOGNE are unmistakable in its 50th year: the focus on the quality of the offering and a balanced mix of German and international, of established and young galleries. ART COLOGNE is ideally positioned for the future". 218 galleries from 24 countries participated in this year’s Art Cologne, including returning exhibitors and new participants. Together, they offered visitors first class offerings of modern, postwar and established contemporary art, as well as brand new contemporary positions.

"It has power“, verified Laszlo von Vertes (Zurich) with respect to the anniversary edition of ART COLOGNE. He brokered, among others, a work by Joan Miró for more than one million Euros to a collection. "The trade fair is positioned even better than last year in terms of quality. The visitors are in a buying mood, which is also due to the fact that art is seen as a stable new currency“. Michael Beck from the Düsseldorf gallery Beck & Eggeling saw the trade fair as "very active". "I have a very good feeling. This is a really successful anniversary show.“ Works ranging from €1,600 to €67,000 were sold, including two drawings by August Macke. This year's ART COLOGNE prize winner Raimund Thomas (Munich), who presented small-format masterpieces in a special architecture, was full of praise: "The reception is fantastic. With regard to the sold exhibits, this ART COLOGNE is an absolute highlight for me.“ Among others, Thomas sold a work by Alexej von Jawlensky for €220,000. "Cologne is always a true pleasure", said Florian Sundheimer (Munich), who placed objects of the Constructivist Hermann Glöckner at an American museum and was successful with bronzes by Joannis Avramidis.

"Cologne has a great public. We had many museum people at the stand and received positive feedback on the mural by Richard Jackson", reported Florian Berktold from the gallery Hauser & Wirth (Zurich/New York/Los Angeles). "Jackson has never realised a mural for a trade fair. It is the first time that we have presented Richard Jackson, Paul McCarthy and Jason Rhodes together in this way“. The quality of the other trade fair stands was also high, according to Berktold. "We come to ART COLOGNE because of the German collectors, museums and institutions“, he emphasised.

Veronique Ansorge, director of Gallery David Zwirner (New York/London) summarised: “We were satisfied with the sales.“ "Active interest and satisfactory sales“ were also reported by Nicole Hackert from the Berlin Contemporary Fine Arts gallery, which was especially pleased by the visit of museum curators. A painting by Norbert Schwontkowski was sold to a museum in the Rhineland; woodcuts by Gert & Uwe Tobias in a price range between €42,000 and €65,000 went to collectors.

For returning exhibitor Perrotin (Paris/New York/Hong Kong), the trade fair went "...very well. Many curators and museum directors were at our stand. We were able to establish good new relations".

"I made fantastic sales“, the New Yorker Carolina Nitsch, who sold drawings by Thomas Schütte, Martin Kippenberger, Sigmar Polke and Louise Bourgeois, as well as small sculptures by Carl Andre, was pleased to report. "This has been the best ART COLOGNE to date for me. I will certainly be coming again", says Nitsch.

"I like the public because it doesn't buy speculatively, but rather out of interest“, according to the Munich gallery owner Bernd Klüser, who was especially successful selling in the middle price range.

"There's movement every day“, Gerd Harry Lybke from the Eigen + Art gallery (Leipzig/Berlin) determined with satisfaction. "The offering and the international interest was better than expected“, Christian Nagel (Cologne/Berlin) shared; "we must maintain this standard". Among others, Nagel brokered the large-format photography of Clegg & Guttman "DDR Children Library, Pritzwalk“ to the Federal Collection of Contemporary Art and sold a work from the sponsor booth of his NEW POSITIONS artist Luke Willis Thompson.

"The strength of this trade fair is that one meets all important German collectors here", stated Jan Wentrup (Berlin),who, in addition to Olaf Metzel's object "Berlin in der Tasche", also sold works by Karl Haendel, Florian Meisenberg and the artist duo Peles Empire. "I can't get away“, reported Daniela Steinfeld from the Düsseldorf gallery VAN HORN, who received enquiries for almost all of her artists. Several institutions also expressed interest in Claus Föttinger's "Bar60/99/16".