MBA in Contemporary Art Travels to Cologne

Under the leadership of Cynthia Cervantes, head of international programs at IESA arts&culture, and their professors Flora Katz and Daniel Lesbaches, the MBA students went on a two-day study trip to Cologne.

The stay began with a visit to the magnificent Cologne Cathedral, a Gothic masterpiece. The students were able to admire the large stained-glass window commissioned from Gerhard Richter in 2007. The afternoon was devoted to exploring the permanent collections of the Museum Ludwig, one of the leading museums of modern and contemporary art in Europe. German Expressionism and the Russian avant-garde are among the movements particularly well represented in the modern collections. For the contemporary period, the Ludwig is not to be outdone and holds a large number of major pieces from the 1960s, in particular those from Nouveau Réalisme and Minimal art. Arranged in a vast room in the manner of an art lover’s cabinet, the Pop Art collection is impressive. Made up of about fifty works by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rosenquist, Raysse and many others, it gives an overview of what the movement was in the United States and in Europe. The students also visited the temporary exhibition, the first major European retrospective of the Korean artist Haegue Yang, bringing together installations, sculptures and drawings.

The end of the day allowed students to discover a selection of contemporary art galleries, very numerous in the city, offering a rich panorama of quality artists little known in France, with the exception of Pierre Soulages at Karsten Greve. The students were well received by the gallery owners and were able to talk with them. It was also an opportunity to discover the city off the beaten tourist track.

The second day was entirely devoted to the central event of this study trip, the visit to the Art Cologne fair. Founded in 1967, it is the oldest contemporary art fair. Bringing together nearly two hundred international galleries each year, divided into three sectors, modern art, contemporary art and young galleries, it is located in the modern exhibition hall. While it lacks the magic of the Grand Palais, the hall offers airy spaces with large stands that make for a most pleasant visit. The selection was of an excellent standard. It was an opportunity for students to see established galleries again, but above all to discover many emerging galleries or ones not participating in FIAC, its French equivalent. All day long, they also had many conversations with dealers.