Thaddaeus Ropac and Sprüth Magers achieve six-digit sales at Art Cologne 2023.

Amid a bustling atmosphere and enthusiastic crowd, the 56th edition of Art Cologne concluded with impressive five-to-six-digit sales across all four days of the fair. Held between November 16th and 19th, the fair featured 170 exhibitors from 29 countries, attracting approximately 45,000 visitors from 68 countries.

This year, Art Cologne strategically condensed its duration to four days, down from the six days of previous editions. This modification was intended to create a more focused and vibrant atmosphere for both attendees and exhibitors. Contrary to concerns, this change didn’t lessen interest but rather resulted in a higher visitor turnout compared to last year.

“This autumn, we found new ways and constellations, where we can say, ‘This is Art Cologne as we imagined it.’,” said Daniel Hug, director of Art Cologne. “Therefore, I am pleased that this was well received by the galleries and visitors. This year, we refocused on our core competence at Art Cologne, which is the modern and contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries, and this format worked well.”

The fair was marked by various trends, such as the increased presence of works from LGBTQ+ artists, ever-popular figurative painting, and a growing interest in multi-media-based art forms.

Here, we share a rundown of the top sales at Art Cologne:

• Thaddaeus Ropac sold four untitled works by Marc Brandenburg for prices in the range of Untitled (2022), Untitled (2014), Untitled (2015), and Untitled (2021) for €33,000, €25,000, €20,000 and €18,000 ($35,640, $27,000, $21,600, and $19,440), respectively; Tony Cragg’s Incident (Upwards) (2022) for €325,000 ($351,000); Imi Knoebel’s Figura Sin (2021) for €220,000 ($238,000); Markus Schinwald's Monuments (2009) for €40,000 ($43,000); and Andreas Slominski’s Pastellblau (2023) for €32,000 ($35,000).
• Sprüth Magers sold Walter Dahn’s The Tyroleans are funny (1987) for €130,000 ($142,000); Astrid Klein's CUT XI (1986–96) for €95,000 ($104,000); Nora Turato's who’s a good boy?? (2023) for €40,000 ($48,000); several works by Robert Elfgen, between €7,500 and €30,000 ($8,200 to $33,000); and Thomas Ruff untitled#11 (n.d.a) for €30,000 ($33,000).
• SETAREH sold a Gregor Gleiwitz painting for €52,000 ($56,200); a Janice Grey photo for €20,000 ($21,600); a Sassan Behnam-Bakhtar painting for €30,000 ($32,400); Hede Bühl’s Head (c. 1980) for €40,000 ($43,200); and a large-scale work by Miron Schmückle for €28,000 ($30,200).
• Anna Laudel sold two works by Ramazan Can, for prices in the four and five-figure range, and two semi-digital works by Cem Sonel, each €5,000 ($5,400).
• BASTIAN sold Pierre Auguste Renoir’s Two Figures in a Landscape (1866) for €340,000 ($372,000) and several editions by Emma Stibbon at prices between €1,500 and €5,000. ($1,700 and $5,400).
• Ludorff sold a painting by Lyonel Feininger for €60,000 ($65,000); an Alexej von Jawlensky drawing for €50,000 ($54,000); and Käthe Kollwitz’s Pieta (Mother with Dead Son) (1938) for €150,000 ($164,000)
• Robert Grunenberg sold a work by Brandon Lipchik for €40,000 ($43,000); seven papercuts by Sonja Yakovleva for €1,500 ($1,600) each; and three drawings by Rainer Fetting, ranging between €10,000 to €15,000. ($11,000 to $16,500).
• Samuelis Baumgarte sold a work by Amanda Chiarucci for €28,500 ($31,200).
• Harlan Levey Projects sold two works by Polish artist Marcin Dudek, one for €24,000, another for €30,000 ($26,270 and $32,837 respectively.) Emmanuel Van der Auwera’s Memento 52 (2023) sold for €18,000 ($19,702), as well as several ink drawings by Willehad Eilers.