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These Are AD2022’s 14 Düsseldorf-Based Galleries

Words: Chris Erik Thomas.

With over 80 galleries in attendance this year, Art Düsseldorf will serve as a sprawling window into the contemporary art world. The fair will feature galleries of both domestic and international origin, but it is the galleries that reside right here in Düsseldorf that we look at with special fondness. They represent the city’s most exciting advances in modern art and bring a strong dose of hometown pride to the industrial halls of Areal Böhler.

As we enter our fourth edition of the art fair, we are proud to have 14 Düsseldorf-based galleries taking over booths with us and showing art from a wide selection of artists. Before we open the doors to Art Düsseldorf from April 8-10, we invite you to get to know the 14 galleries from our city that will join us this year.

Please note the booth numbers for each gallery are presented in brackets.

Helmut Dorner. Kurbelachse, 2020. Acrylic on wood. 172,2 × 125,9 cm. Courtesy: Kadel Willborn, Düsseldorf. Photo: Heinz Pelz.

BECK & EGGELING INTERNATIONAL FINE ART [J01]

In a townhouse in Leipzig in 1994, Michael Beck and Dr. Ute Eggeling came together to found their namesake gallery. In its early years, the gallery exhibited art from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as more contemporary works, while also exploring the link between visual art and music.

Four years later, in 1998, the duo moved the gallery from Leipzig to both Düsseldorf and New York, before settling into their current location in an opulent eighteenth-century mansion in Düsseldorf’s old town. Now nearing its 30th anniversary, the gallery has helped both new and established artists find their footing in the city’s art scene, while also expanding into Vienna with a branch that opened its doors in September 2016.

With their return to the art fair, the gallery will showcase works by Leiko Ikemura, Günther Uecker, Gotthard Graubner, Stefan Kürten, as well as a specially designed mirror room by the artist Heinz Mack.

 

COSAR [H09]

Founded by Michael Cosar and Nadja Thiel, the gallery located inside a former Maria Theresia monastery has become an integral destination for the city’s contemporary art lovers. With their always-changing exhibitions, the gallery has shown works of paintings, photography, sculpture, installations, and video.

This year, the gallery is displaying works from Gabriele Beveridge, Melissa Gordon, Erika Hock, Vera Kox, Marge Monko, Irina Ojovan, and Berit Schneidereit.

 

KADEL WILLBORN [F06]

Since 2004, the gallery started by Iris Kadel and Moritz Willborn has been driven by a dedication to exploring concepts of new realism, performance art, conceptual art, and body art – all while engaging in long-term, deeply rooted relationships with its artists and estates.

In this year’s edition of Art Düsseldorf, the gallery will present a solo presentation of works by the abstract painter Helmut Dorner.

Laura Aberham. "o.T.", 2022. Acryl auf Baumwolle. 160 x 130 cm. Ungerahmt. Courtesy Galerie Rupert Pfab, Düsseldorf.

GALERIE MAX MAYER [D04]

Beginning in 2011 not as a gallery but rather as a series of presentations spread throughout Düsseldorf, the contemporary art exhibitor moved into its current position at Schmela Haus, the Aldo van Eyck built gallery house, in September 2020. Over the last decade, the gallery has put together exhibitions with both new and established talent, and is known for its project-based collaborations.

 

GALERIE RUPERT PFAB (NEW) [A07]

The art historian and former curator opened his namesake gallery 17 years ago in December 2005. Since opening its doors, the contemporary art space has welcomed both national and international artists working in painting, sculpture, drawing, conceptual art, and media art. Alongside their group and solo exhibitions, the gallery is also known for its trade fair. Since 2017, it has been located in the city’s bustling gallery district of Flingern.

For the first time ever, the gallery will join Art Düsseldorf with a selection of works by the artists Kazuki Nakahara, Astrid Busch, Laura Aberham, Matthias Wollgast, Simone Lucas, and Sophie Heinrich.

 

GALERIE HANS MAYER [G06]

There may be nothing more impressive than opening your gallery with a showcase of works by famed German artist Josef Albers. That was the subject of its debut show in 1965 and, since then, the famed gallery has claimed the title of “first to show Andy Warhol in Düsseldorf” and shown works by legendary artists that include Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, and Jean Michel Basquiat. With nearly six decades of experience, the gallery has become known for its large outdoor sculptures and crossovers into concerts, fashion shows, dance, and many other artistic mediums.

 

KONRAD FISCHER GALERIE (NEW) [C05]

It all began in October 1967 in an unused alley. Founded by Konrad and Dorothee Fischer, the small gallery opened its door with an exhibition of works by Carl Andre at a time when minimalist art had not yet broken out in Europe. In the decades since these very humble beginnings, the gallery has become known for not just exhibiting artists in the city, but actually inviting them to Düsseldorf so that they could get acquainted with the city and, often, create site-specific pieces. Forty years after its founding, the gallery expanded in 2007 with an additional gallery in Berlin, and, today, it is run by Berta Fischer.

As the acclaimed contemporary art gallery joins Art Düsseldorf for the first time, their booth will feature the work of Tony Cragg, Paul Czerlitzki, Thomas Ruff, and Tatjana Valsang.

Astrid Styma. "Stand your ground",2021. Oil on canvas. 85x55 cm. Courtesy: Setareh.

LINN LÜHN [H04]

Originally founded in Cologne in 2006, the namesake gallery of the artist was opened by Lühn after previously running Galerie Jablonka Lühn alongside Rafael Jablonka. With over a decade and a half of experience, the gallery has purposefully kept its artist roster tight so that close relationships are formed with each person. Alongside its exhibitions of contemporary art, the gallery also releases publications and artist books.

In 2008, Lühn also co-founded Cahier, a quarterly magazine on Rhineland’s contemporary art scene. And in 2011, the gallery moved from Cologne to Düsseldorf, establishing itself in a former bottle warehouse.

 

LUCAS HIRSCH [D05]

As one of the newest names in the city’s contemporary art scene, the gallery has operated since its 2016 group show of the artists Nolan Simon, Aude Pariset, and Philipp Timischl. Over its six years in operation, the contemporary art gallery has shown a range of interesting works that span performance, paintings, sculpture, and more.

For its return to Art Düsseldorf, the gallery will present in a special shared booth with the Cologne-based gallery Drei. It will feature works by Mira Mann, Simon Mielke, Niklas Taleb, and Phung-Tien Phan.

 

PETRA RINCK GALERIE [J07]

Founded in 2008, the contemporary art gallery has become a fixture of the city’s Flingern gallery district. With a focus on painting and sculpture, the gallery has developed a reputation for its mix of young and established artists.

As they occupy a booth for another year of the fair, the gallery will show works by Emma Talbot, Jörn Stoya, Albrecht Schäfer, Line Lyhne, and Lothar Götz.

 

SCHÖNEWALD [H03]

Now celebrating its 30th birthday, the gallery that was founded by Paul Schönewald and Rainer Beuse has spent years building up a collection of both post-war and contemporary pieces from a range of artists. Since 2008, the gallery has been situated in a former hydraulics factory that was converted into a gallery and redesigned by Selldorf Architects, New York. Alongside more contemporary artists, the gallery also has works by such legends as Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, and Georg Baselitz.

Hedda Schattanik & Roman Szczesny. Auf dem Weg zum Flughafen, 2021. HeRo/F 8. Inkjet print on Canson Rag. Photographique, mounted on alu-dibond. 160 x 213 cm. 170 x 223 cm (framed). Edition of 3 + 2 AP. Courtesy: the artists and Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf.

SETAREH [H07]

Despite opening less than a decade ago, in 2013, the gallery founded by Samandar and Elham Setareh has established a wide scope of influence. Operating out of three different locations – two in Düsseldorf and one in Berlin – the contemporary art gallery promotes more than 25 artists of various backgrounds. Beyond their in-person solo and group exhibitions, the gallery also offers a vast range of online content, including studio views, viewing rooms, and artist interviews.

When the doors to Areal Böhler open in April, the gallery will present a selection of works by Astrid Styma, Gregor Gleiwitz, Jim Thorell, Wolfgang Betke, Soraya Sharghi, Laura Sachs, Kate Andrews, Elsa Sahal, Sebastian Riemer, and Steffen Jopp.

 

SIES + HÖKE [G03 + F05]

On the eve of a new century in December 1999, Alexander Sies and Nina Höke opened the doors of their gallery. In the two decades since, its become a home for artists across Europe, the United States, and Latin America, and has grown to include a publishing program that produces exhibition catalogs, monographs, and artist’s books. After moving into a building in the city’s historic district in 2002, the gallery has spent two decades expanding from 200 to 1,000 square meters of space spread across three floors.

The gallery will return to Art Düsseldorf with carefully curated pieces by Henning Strassburger, Julian Charrière, Paul Hutchinson, Ulrich Erben, and the duo Hedda Schattanik and Roman Szczesny.

 

VAN HORN [I04]

Named after a small village in Texas that can be found on the drive from El Paso to Marfa, the gallery began as an artist-run and non-commercial space. It was in 2008 that the founder, Daniela Steinfeld, opened the doors of the gallery – before refounding it in 2009 in a larger location. Over more than a decade, the gallery has become known for allowing selected artists, collectors, and curators to produce special exhibitions. In January 2017, the gallery expanded into a second location, Van Horn Schaulager, which resides in an industrial area of the city.

Chris Erik Thomas is the Digital Editor of Art Düsseldorf. They work as a freelance writer and editor in Berlin and focus primarily on culture, art, and media. Their work can also be seen in Highsnobiety, The Face Magazine, and other publications.

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