COLOGNE FINE ART

February 15 - 19, 2006

Koelnmesse GmbH

Cologne (pts010/16.01.2006/10:30) Cologne's new fine art fair: Quality focus, strong international orientation

COLOGNE FINE ART launch:
Showcasing 180 fine art galleries, antique dealers and antiquarian booksellers

Rich supporting programme of special shows and exhibitions
One hundred and eighty fine art galleries, antique dealers and antiquarian booksellers will be exhibiting at the launch of COLOGNE FINE ART - twenty-seven from countries outside Germany. The Fair runs from 15 to 19 February 2006 in Hall 4 of the Cologne Trade Fair Centre. The range of art objects on offer has been somewhat reduced in order to raise quality standards and to give the Fair a strongly international orientation. 'Fine art galleries, antique dealers and antiquarian booksellers have been showing a lot of interest in the Fair's new focus, new name and new venue and this confirms we've made the right move at the right time,' says Oliver P. Kuhrt, Managing Director of Koelnmesse. The basic idea behind COLOGNE FINE ART is to stage a fine art fair embracing the whole history of art and applied art. This concept has already proved highly attractive outside Germany. The new name - in English, for international appeal - replaces the old, somewhat confusing trio of German names for the three spring fairs in Cologne. This makes marketing more effective and is set to boost attendance figures.

COLOGNE FINE ART will be sponsored by the Rheinischer Kunsthändler-Verband e.V. (RKV) [the Rhineland Art Dealers' Association], the Bundesverband Deutscher Kunstverleger e.V. (BDKV) [the Federal Association of German Art Publishers] and the Verband Deutscher Antiquare e.V. (VDA) [the German Antiquarian Booksellers' Association]. 'All three are backing COLOGNE FINE ART strongly and we're pulling out all the stops to make this launch a real success,' Kuhrt emphasized. Fair organizer Koelnmesse also has the active support of the Bundesverband des Deutschen Kunst- und Antiquitätenhandels e.V. (BDKA) [the Federal Association of German Fine Art and Antique Dealers], the Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien e.V. (BVDG) [the Federal Association of German Art Galleries] and the Deutscher Kunsthandelsverband e.V. (DK) [the German Art Trade Association].

Plans for the Fair include staging a rich supporting programme of special shows and exhibitions. Gérard A. Goodrow, Vice President, Art & Culture, Koelnmesse and ART COLOGNE Director, comments: 'A number of exhibitions and panel discussions highlight and analyze some important sections of COLOGNE FINE ART.' Dr Ernst Fischer, a private collector specializing in the ancient arts of the Americas, will be loaning an exciting selection of pre-Columbian objects from Peru from his own museum-calibre collection. A catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition. Günther Herzog, the head of ZADIK, the Cologne-based Zentralarchiv des Internationalen Kunsthandels [the Central Archive of the International Art Trade] will be curating a documentary exhibition of work by Group Zero. He is publishing a book on the group. This show provides a foretaste of the major Group Zero retrospective to be staged by the museum kunst palast in Düsseldorf in early April 2006. Susanne Zander and Claudia Dichter will be curating a show titled 'Outsider Photographie' and Franz van der Grinten an exhibition titled 'Marcel Broodthaers in Sammlung und Fotografien von Benjamin Katz' [Marcel Broodthaers: The Benjamin Katz Collection and Archive].

Not to throw out the baby with the bathwater, COLOGNE FINE ART will be retaining a number of features from previous formats. The 'Stand for Young Collectors', a popular perennial at the Westdeutsche Kunst Messe, will continue. Here, prices are restricted to a maximum of Eur2,500. 'Even better prices - only Eur35,' Goodrow says, 'apply to the artworks reserved for children and young people aged 5 to 18.' Graphics offered under the label of 'Muka Prints' at last year's KUNSTKÖLN proved very popular. The 'Muka Prints' project is organized by Koelnmesse in cooperation with the municipal JugendArtGalerie des Schulamts für die Stadt Köln.

The KUNSTKÖLN Prize has been rebranded the COLOGNE FINE ART Prize. Worth Eur10,000, the Prize is awarded by Koelnmesse and the BDKV for outstanding achievement in the graphic arts. A solo show of the prizewinner's work is part of the award package.

EXPONATEC COLOGNE, the International Fair for Museums, Conservation and Heritage, now in its second edition, will be running in parallel with COLOGNE FINE ART - from 15 to 18 February 2006. It will also be staging a strong supporting programme of specialist symposia, conferences, exhibitions and presentations. An estimated 29,000 visitors are expected at EXPONATEC COLOGNE and COLOGNE FINE ART. For COLOGNE FINE ART these will primarily be private and institutional collectors, museum professionals, curators and art enthusiasts. But, secondarily, members of EXPONATEC's target groups will be attracted to COLOGNE FINE ART. These target groups include representatives of cultural and educational institutions, delegations from international organizations like 'The Best in Heritage' and Europa Nostra (the Fair's partners), the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Deutscher Museumsbund, representatives of foundations and art societies and professionals in the museum, restoration, conservation and heritage communities.

Aussender:	Koelnmesse GmbH, COLOGNE FINE ART
Ansprechpartner:	Dirk Mangold
Tel.:	+49/221-821-2907
E-Mail:	d.mangold@koelnmesse.de