The art fair
International Fair for Classic Modern and Contemporary Art
The art karlsruhe takes place annually in Baden-Württemberg, one of the wealthiest German states, and benefits from its location in the border triangle of Germany, Switzerland and France. This fair for Classic Modern and Contemporary art spans a spectrum of more than 120 years of art history. art karlsruhe presents the complete bandwidth of the art of the 20th century, flanked by the latest artworks fresh the artists’ ateliers.
At home in the art collectors’ State of Baden-Württemberg, embedded in a dense cultural landscape with great private collections such as Grässlin (St. Georgen), Schaufler (Sindelfingen), Hoppe-Ritter (Waldenbuch), Museum Würth (Schwäbisch Hall and elsewhere) and Frieder Burda Foundation (Baden-Baden), art karlsruhe has established itself since 2004 as a permanent feature on the international art-fair scene.
Find out more about the fair highlight of the art business here.
In Karlsruhe, passion prompts people to buy art. Our consistently high numbers of visitors and the strong satisfaction expressed by visitors and exhibitors alike confirm our concept. We see ourselves as perhaps the most democratic of all art fairs: art karlsruhe adeptly builds a bridge between works by established artists on the one hand and less costly yet nonetheless artistically valuable positions that pave the way for new aficionados to begin collecting art.
Classic Modern and Contemporary uniquely arranged
art karlsruhe is unique thanks to its arrangement of gallery stands in interplay with spacious sculpture:squares and one:artist shows in comprehensibly structured, light-flooded halls.
Furthermore, art karlsruhe boasts a convincing curatorial concept, which also clearly assigns specific focal points to each of the four halls:
- Classic Modern + Contemporary Art
- Art after 1945 + Contemporary Art
- Discover
- Artication (Art+Education)
Look forward to an inspiring tour through 120 years of art history!
Interspersed in the landscape of gallery stands, the sculpture:squares add structure to the fair’s halls and create venues for contemplation. Each of these 100-square-metre areas offers gallery owners the opportunity to present one or maximally two artists. The interplay between three-dimensional art on an open area and two-dimensional art at the fair’s stands sparks enthusiasm among the exhibiting gallery owners and collectors.
The one:artist shows (each with at least 25 square metres of exhibition space) embody a gallery’s commitment to a single artist. Each one:artist show offers collectors the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the oeuvre of the exhibiting artist.
Topics of Interest
Every year at art karlsruhe artists of Classic Modern are presented by galleries. Art directions such as Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism or Constructivism can be found at the fair.
Art after 1945, art informel or informal art summarizes the styles of abstract or non-geometric, non-representational art. The focus of art after the Second World War is the free, spontaneous creative process.
Contemporary art can be found in Karlsruhe in addition to art after 1945 and classic modern in the big halls. The latest works fresh from the artists' studios can be found in the Discover Hall.
The Advisory Board of art karlsruhe
The adjudicating nine headed Advisory Board of art karlsruhe is composed of experts in the fair’s individual focal points. In agreement with the Chairman of the Advisory Board Kristian Jarmuschek and fair director Britta Wirtz, the Advisory Board decides whether or not to allow potential exhibitors to participate in the art fair.
The Members of the Advisory Board of art karlsruhe
Dorothee Baer-Bogenschütz
(art journalist, Wiesbaden)
The art historian and critic writes for various daily newspapers and reports on art fairs and exhibitions worldwide.
Dr. Alexander Fils
(gallery owner, Düsseldorf)
The postdoctoral art historian and member of the supervisory board in several museums decides on the selection of galleries with a focus on Graphic prints and Original Editions.Fils leads Art Edition-Fils (founded in 1870) in the fifth generation.
Renate Bender
(gallery owner, Munich)
In the programme of her homonymous gallery, which she founded in 1987, Bender carries reduced forms of painting, photography and sculpture, primarily in the area of minimal, monochrome and concrete forms of expression.
Werner Tammen
(gallery owner, Berlin)
Gallery Tammen focuses on Contemporary art. Werner Tammen is also the chairman of the Landesverband Berliner Galerien [State Association of Berlin Galleries].
Dr. Dorothea van der Koelen
(gallery owner, Mainz/Venice)
This art historian and publisher operates three galleries for Contemporary art in Mainz and Venice, has staged over 500 exhibitions, and curates in over 25 countries.
Christian K. Scheffel
(gallery owner, Bad Homburg)
Scheffel runs his homonymous gallery for contemporary art (founded in 1979) in the second generation. He is also the founder and curator of the Skulpturenbiennale Blickachsen and Managing Director of the Stiftung Blickachsen gGmbH.
Marko Schacher
(gallery owner, Stuttgart)
Schacher was appointed as a new member of the Advisory Board in 2019 and decides on the selection of galleries for the section ContemporaryArt 21. For several years now, he has been running his Galerie Schacher – Raum für Kunst in Stuttgart and is also working as a curator and author.
Arne Linde
(gallery owner, Leipzig)
Arne Linde is the founder and director of the ASPN gallery on the grounds of the Leipzig cotton mill. She has been showing young and recent positions in contemporary art since 2005. Social issues, participation, queerness, feminism and democracy play a decisive role in the gallery's programme.
