A Place for Contemporary Art. Since 1839.
Young, promising, emerging: an attribute of many artists – but where can they exhibit? This is not a modern question but one that intrigued Max Ernst, Hans Arp, Paul Klee before they gained fame. They eventually found an answer at the Kölnischer Kunstverein.
Established in 1838, the non-profit association has dedicated itself to young, contemporary art and promising newcomers, showing great courage throughout its history, embracing scandals, and thus writing "exhibition history." Today, the Kölnischer Kunstverein is considered one of the oldest and most prestigious exhibition institutions for contemporary art in Germany, awarded with numerous prizes. With changing exhibitions, events, and the opportunity to purchase young art, e.g., as an annual gift or association gift. So drop by sometime...
History and Highlights
The list of founding members from 1839 – all Cologne citizens – is illustrious: writer and politician Everhard von Groote, Johann Maria Farina, manufacturer of Eau de Cologne from
the house of Farina, and Matthias Joseph de Noël, among others, curator of the Wallrafanium and later
Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Within the first year, the membership grew to 1,300.
Among the numerous exhibitions was the sensational Dada exhibition of 1919 at the Kölnischer Kunstverein or the second exhibition of the Cologne Secession in 1926 with the "scandalous" painting "The Virgin Chastises the Christ Child Before Three Witnesses: André Breton, Paul Eluard, and Max Ernst" by Max Ernst, which now hangs in the
Museum Ludwig.
From 1935, the association repeatedly showcased artists who were not approved by the Nazi regime. An important exhibition focus at the end of the 1940s was on Rhineland artists and those banned since 1933 or international artists in the 1960s, particularly the French informal avant-garde. The "Happening and Fluxus" exhibition in 1970, curated by Harald Szeemann, achieved cult status.
The Bridge: a Riphahn Building
Since its inception, the Kölnischer Kunstverein has changed its location many times until it finally moved into a Riphahn building from 1949/50 in 2002. This building alone, with its sympathetic and unobtrusive effect, the curved staircase, the elegant semicircular conchs of the theater room, and showcase architecture of the 1950s, is worth a visit.
The mandate for architect Wilhelm Riphahn – one of Cologne's most important post-war architects, who also built the excursion restaurant
Bastion on the Rhine with its floating, delicate-crystalline glass and steel structure in 1924 – was to create a place of dialogue, initially housing the British Information Centre "The Bridge" and later the British Council.
The Kölnischer Kunstverein has at its disposal an exhibition hall, project space, offices, over ten artist workspaces, an artist apartment, a lecture/event hall, and a cinema with the Bridge.
If you are interested in the architecture of the 1950s, you will discover numerous architectural jewels in Cologne, including our
Tourist Information, directly opposite the cathedral. Feel free to check it out.
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