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My mother raised me in England, but my father is from Rhine, so I often visited the family in Colonia. When I was thinking about where to expand my gallery beyond London and Ibiza, I realized that, for a relatively small city, Colonia is full of cultural history. It is where some of Germany’s best artists, Sigmar Polke, Isa Genzken, Joseph Beuys, lived or exhibited. The whole idea of the art fair that we are so accustomed began today with Rudolf Zwirner and Hein Stünke in 1967. We opened our first show in Colonia in April and I still want to be here as much as possible. It is also a place that I really enjoy, it has a very local and friendly feeling.
I like to stay at the Chelsea hotel on the central restaurant, which I took charge and reopened this year. It is incredibly familiar, friendly and clean, and the walls can tell stories. When it opened in the 1980s, it was a real crucible of anyone who participated creatively in Colonia. My favorite story is how the artist Martin Kippenberger became a regular at the hotel; He won a bet with the owner for a week and free breakfast of a week, which became months. He basically moved, paying for his stay with paintings. It was who is who of the German artistic scene and a forum for philosophical and creative discussion.
Today there are many galleries given the size of the city. I like communion and the community they bring. My gallery meeting is on the same street as Galerie Khoshbakht and around the corner of Jan Kaps in the Belgian neighborhood. I also like the Ludwig museum, it has one of the largest pop art collections outside the United States, and the Kolumba designed by Peter Zumthor, the Archdiocese Museum of Religious Art in Colonia, as well as one of the largest collections in the world of Paul Thek. It is very quiet; Most of the time there are not so many people.
The Belgian neighborhood is known for its bars. Start with a Kölsch, a slow beer traditionally served in a 11 or 12 glasses crown called Kranz, in Schmitz Salon, which is open all day and at the end of the night. Or go to MD Bar, which is quite deide abroad, but it is a great place founded by two artists.
If you want to avoid the multitude of art, the fonda is a fabulous restaurant. I always have the traditional German meatballs of Frikadellen. For a Kölsch with super local kitchen, go to Päffgen in Friesestraße and Ordene Himmel und Erde, a traditional dish with puree of peep and stewed apples. My favorite restaurant is Hase, which means “hare.” He is opposed to the Gisela Capitain gallery; She was Kippenberger’s gallery owner and still works with some of the best young painters. He used to have lunch with her there and ask her advice on a pfifferlinge dish, seasonal mushrooms cooked in cream sauce and served with paste.
If I have a quiet moment to go shopping, I go to one of the best art bookstores in the world, Walther König. He has been open since 1969 and I have not yet found its equal. It has a beautiful interior; It is very relaxing. I bought a monograph from the abstract painter Blinky Palermo there when I arrived in the city as an adult. It has a very worn cover now! There are also Atelier X and Heimat for all kinds of great fashion.
Colonia feels so small that I think less about neighborhoods and more in: “How long has you to walk from one place to another?” There is something in walking through the city from the Belgian neighborhood to the Rhine, a majestic European River. The cathedral is also spectacular. It rises above the city and took more than 600 years to complete. In 2006, they commissioned Gerhard Richter to redesign one of the windows of stained glass. It is wonderful and definitely one of the most prominent aspects of the city.
Colonia’s architecture is interesting because you will have a medieval building right next to the 1970s. It was bombarded in World War II, and the result is a surprising mix of styles that would say that it has spread to how colony feels: a feeling of open mentality, friendship and accessibility. The city does not put barriers to people who want to take the first step, not only in art, but in anything.