No. 8 Cologne, November 25, 2012
   
   
Final Report Cologne Fine Art & Antiques 2012:   
   
Cologne Fine Art & Antiques impresses with diversity and the ultimate in quality   
   
Exquisite offering attracts over 13,500 visitors - Galleries report good sales in four, five and six-figure sums – participant field with high-caliber returnees – large interest in special shows   
   
Following six successful days, Cologne Fine Art & Antiques 2012 came to an end on Sunday. Under the new management of Cornelia Zinken, 105 renowned galleries and art dealers presented a fascinating cross-section of various styles and epochs, from old masters, modern and applied art to selected design pieces and 'works on paper'. Including estimates for the last day of the trade fair, a total of over 13,500 visitors visited Cologne Fine Art & Antiques this year. "Cologne is and remains a firmly established event on the art market," says Cornelia Zinken, Director of Cologne Fine Art & Antiques. "The success of the trade fair makes it clear that our concept of presenting a high-quality combination of styles and epochs is precisely the right one. We want to continue this in the coming years, while also setting some new accents." In the face of an audience which is not only knowledgeable but also willing to buy, the participating galleries and art dealers showed a high level of satisfaction with the results of the trade fair.   
   
"The demand is overwhelming," said Bert Schlichtenmaier, delighted by the great interest shown by buyers when the fair had only just opened. With a coherent stand design which presented three generations of abstract art, the gallery owner from Stuttgart also impressed numerous museum people. "The clear statement has been understood," he determined. "People think very carefully and are interested in material things," was something also observed at Setareh, where a painting by Otto Mueller was sold for € 60,000. The Düsseldorf-based art dealers, who displayed an exquisite interplay of rugs, paintings of Classical Modernism and contemporary design objects at their stand - thereby impressively demonstrating the interplay of various styles and epochs characteristic of the art trade fair, are hoping for lucrative business in the wake of the fair, just as they experienced in previous years. "This is one of our best Cologne trade fairs," says Dr. Doris Möllers, who sold a drawing from Max Liebermann, graphics from Käthe Kollwitz, Otto Dix, Max Pechstein and Picasso and was particularly pleased by a younger group of buyers. "Cologne Fine Art & Antiques is a real alternative to Tefaf," claimed Cologne-based gallery owner Klaus Benden, who was successful in particular with American pop art from Roy Lichtenstein and Tom Wesselmann. "The quality level is continually rising and the fair is attended by good collectors," says Benden. "The fair is far better than perceived," verified Manuel Ludorff, referring to the wide range of offerings at Cologne Fine Art & Antiques. "Location, quality, visitors – at Cologne Fine Art & Antiques, everything is just right," was the opinion of Hubertus Melsheimer, who has participated in the fair for many years. This opinion was shared by the Bamberg-based antique dealer Christian Eduard Franke, one of the high-caliber returnees. "People are attracted by beautiful things," says Franke, who observed a great deal of interest in handicrafts and who praised the "tasteful, solvent audience". Among other things, he bid farewell to a lacquered table from 1770. Rolf Hirschberg was also successful, selling numerous rugs, including a sleeping rug from Morocco and a large, old Berber rug, and making many new contacts - much to his great satisfaction. "The atmosphere is very good, the people are delighted," declared Henricus Simonis, who sold art from Africa and Oceana. Dealer of Oriental artworks Michael Woerner also noted a large amount of interest. He found takers for a large Buddha head, a Gandhara head from the 2nd/3rd century (six-figure price), a torso and ritual stones from the Bronze Age and sold pieces to museums. Collectors with a limited budget also made finds at the Vömel Gallery, who sold "piles" of the gold dust weights from the Akan people from Ghana at prices of up to € 900, as reported by Edwin Vömel, who was also successful with graphics from Max Liebermann, bronzes from René Sintenis and watercolors from Werner Bargheer and Werner Gilles. Numerous sales were also registered by Hans Paffrath, including a painting from Andreas Achenbach. Jewelry dealers Jörg Schuhmacher and Marc Stabenack from Schmuckhandel Friedrich received much applause for their joint presentation with paintings of Classical Modernism and jewelry. "With this, we are right on trend," said Schuhmacher.    
   
Successful continuation of the 'Works on Paper' section   
The 'Works on Paper' section introduced last year was continued with an exquisite range of offerings. Here, too, the atmosphere was good. Munich-based Angelika Arnoldi-Livie praised the "beautiful interplay" between modern and old art. "It couldn't be any more compact", she concluded. Business went well for Thole Rotermund, who found takers for Feininger drawings (for a six-figure sum) and who sold a drawing from Franz Marc to an important collection in the Rhineland. Aurel Scheibler brokered a large-format drawing from Stefan Löffelhardt (€ 8,000). The drawings from Ernst Wilhelm Nay drew a lot of attention. "The area of works on paper lends the fair a good weight on the whole," said Scheibler.   
   
Honor for Tony Cragg   
With the presentation of the Cologne Fine Art Prize to British sculptor Tony Cragg, Cologne Fine Art & Antiques set an artistic highlight right at the opening. The award ceremony and the special show with sculptures and drawings from the artist, who resides in Wuppertal, turned into a real audience-magnet. The Cologne Fine Art Prize is awarded by Koelnmesse and the Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Kunsthändler e.V. (BVDG) together.   
   
A museum in the fair hall   
The exhibition "Die Passepartout-Notiz", with which the Cologne Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud participated in Cologne Fine Art & Antiques, also received many visitors. The museum's graphic collection depicted Italian drawings from the 16th and 17th century. This focused on the annotations of renowned experts on the mounts. Many of the drawings displayed were being presented to the public for the first time ever.     
   
A selection of registered sales at Cologne Fine Art & Antiques 2012:   
   
Samuelis Baumgarte Galerie, Bielefeld:   
"Nana" sculpture from Niki de Saint-Phalle; large paper work from Heinz Mack; painting from Bernard Schultze   
   
Beck & Eggeling, Düsseldorf:   
Miniatures and a large picture from Hubert Beck    
   
Galerie Klaus Benden, Cologne:   
Roy Lichtenstein "Modern Sculpture" with accompanying sketches, € 95,000; works from Beuys and an abstract work from Tom Wesselmann     
   
Galerie Boisserée, Cologne   
Eduardo Chillida "Gravitation", € 85,000; works from Miró and from the rest of the entire trade fair presentation   
   
Brenske Gallery, Munich:   
Four icons, sold to new customers, among others   
   
Kunsthandel Stefan Decker, Baden-Baden:   
Johann Georg van Dillis "Gebirgslandschaft mit Holzbrücke", around 1800/1820   
   
Galerie Française, Munich:   
Pablo Picasso "Le déjeuner sur l´herbe", pastel and chalk, € 320,000 in a south-German collection; Picasso lithography, € 52,000; a series of further works from various artists    
   
Christian Eduard Franke Antiquitäten, Bamberg:   
Bronzes; lacquered table, Brunswick 1770    
   
Galerie Klaus Gerrit Friese, Stuttgart:   
Painting from Michael Langer, € 6,000; drawings from Karl Bohrmann; drawings from William Copley, € 12,000   
   
Kunsthandel Härtl, Bamberg:   
French writing table at a high five-figure sum; paintings; ceramic   
   
Teppichkunst Hirschberg, Cologne:   
Five-meter long sleeping rug from Morocco, € 8,800; Indian wedding scarf, € 6,600; Tibetan door hanging; Tibetan tsutruk with tiger pattern and other pieces   
   
Galerie Heinz Holtmann, Cologne:   
Object from Aman o.T. , 1984, € 35,000; work from Heinz Mack from the Zero era, € 30,000; graphics from Tony Cragg   
   
Kunsthandel Dr. Dagmar Holz, Königswinter:   
Snuffbox with port scenes, Meissen, around 1740, with gold fitting, high five-figure sum; Commedia dell´Arte figures, Meissen, around 1743/44; cup and saucer with jade-green background, Meissen, around 1730   
   
André Kirbach Kunsthandel, Düsseldorf:   
Wooden objects from Heiner Koch between € 2,900 and € 3,800; two works from Jupp Lückerath at € 8,000 each   
   
Galerie Koch, Hanover:    
Pages from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's sketch pad between € 2,000 and € 18,000; Alexej von Jawlensky "Große Meditation"    
   
Krümmer Fine Art, Hamburg:   
Painting from Markus Lüpertz; Emil Nolde "Porträt einer Frau"; watercolor on Japanese paper, 1920   
   
Kunkel Fine Art, Munich:    
August Riedel "Römerin aus Albano" for an almost six-figure sum   
   
Frank Landau, Frankfurt a.M.:   
Sales in all areas, lamps, tables, lounge chairs; American dining table, 1962, bleached mahogany, with brass feet, € 32,000    
   
Galerie Ludorff, Düsseldorf:   
Picture from Gerhard Richter for an almost six-figure sum   
   
Galerie Maulberger & Becker, Düsseldorf:   
Otto Piene "Yellow Diary", € 70,000; painting from Fred Dahmen, € 48,000    
   
Hubertus Melsheimer Kunsthandel, Cologne:   
>From the exhibition "Das kleine Format" works from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff    
   
Kunstkontor Dr. Doris Möllers, Münster:   
Drawings from Max Liebermann; graphics from Käthe Kollwitz, Otto Dix, Max Pechstein, Pablo Picasso    
   
Salis & Vertes, Zürich/Salzburg:   
Painting from Sonia Delauney   
   
Schlapka, Munich:   
Biedermeier bureau and Biedermeier desk (€ 4,000)   
   
Galerie Schlichtenmaier, Grafenau/Stuttgart:   
Willi Baumeister "Troja" 1944, oil with synthetic resin and putty kit on cardboard, € 170,000; Karl Otto Goetz "Komposition vom 22.6.1955", mixed techniques on canvas, € 55,000; two paintings from Peter Brüning; Bernard Schultze "Pfade und Flecken", oil on canvas, € 57,000    
   
Kunsthandel Dr. Schmitz-Avila, Bad Breisig/Bamberg:   
Museal pult bureau with figured inlays and gold-plated fittings, € 130,000; small chests of drawers; rococo top-mounted cabinet    
   
Kunsthandel Thomas Schneider, Munich:   
Sales in all areas, including Ivo Hauptmann "Blütenbäume" 1922; Wilhelm Kuhnert "Ruhender Tiger", 1912; Max Clarenbach "Niederrhein-Landschaft im Winter", € 14,000    
   
Galerie Jörg Schuhmacher, Frankfurt a.M.:   
Painting from Sonia Delaunay-Terk   
   
Setareh, Düsseldorf:   
Objects from Hervé van der Straeten; painting from Otto Mueller, € 60,000   
   
Galerie Vömel, Düsseldorf:    
Woodcut from Karl Schmidt-Rottluff "Die Sonne", € 7,000; bronzes from René Sintenis; watercolor from Werner Gilles, € 8,500; watercolor from Eduard Bergheer, € 3,500; graphics from Max Liebermann   
   
Michael Woerner Oriental Art, Hong Kong:   
Large Buddha head; Gandhara head (six-figure price); ritual stones between € 2,200 and   
€ 3,800   
   
Works on paper   
Arnoldi-Livie, Munich:   
Drawings from Lyonel Feininger, Adolph Menzel and a large drawing from George Grosz    
   
C.G. Boerner, Düsseldorf:   
Drawings from the Düsseldorf School of Painting to the Düsseldorf Stadtmuseum; Copper plate engravings with Italian views from the 19th century    
   
Fred Jahn, Munich:   
Ink works from Georg Baselitz; Pad of five proofs at € 30,000 each   
   
Galerie Ludorff, Düsseldorf:   
Street scene from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, € 95,000   
   
Aurel Scheibler, Berlin:   
Large drawing from Stefan Löffelhardt, € 8,000   
   
Schönewald Fine Arts, Düsseldorf:   
Works from Sigmar Polke and Elizabeth Peyton   
   
About Cologne Fine Art & Antiques:    
"Excellent beyond time. Beautiful beyond borders." With its characteristic parallel and crossover of different styles and epochs, the combination of old, modern and applied art as well as design and 'works on paper', Cologne Fine Art & Antiques is truly unique – and not just across Germany.    
   
Next date:   
Cologne Fine Art & Antiques    
November 20-24, 2013   
   
Notes for editors:    
You can find image material as well as the logo of Cologne Fine Art & Antiques in our online image database (www.cofaa.de) in the "Press" area.