BRIGHT AND BUZZING –
THE DÜSSELDORF ART SCENE

Art has an enormously high status in Düsseldorf, its institutions and many artists enjoy a worldwide reputation. The art market also influences the economic prosperity of the state capital.

From 12 to 14 April 2024, Art Düsseldorf will once again open its doors at the Areal Böhler. Exhibition director Walter Gehlen spoke to VIVID about the development and profile of the unique event, the importance of art in a crisis-ridden world and how art can also influence a company.

Daniela Steinfeld founded VAN HORN 20 years ago as an artists' space named after a small town in Texas. The Düsseldorf-based artist has been a gallery owner for 15 years, showing talents such as Anys Reimann, Elisabeth Vary and Jan Albers at two locations in Flingern and Lierenfeld and at international art fairs. In her podcast Voices on Art, Daniela Steinfeld talks to international artists and gallery owners about art. In VIVID she gives an insight into the work of a gallery owner.

Düsseldorf and art - a love story that began during the 18th century if not before: in 1773, Elector Karl Theodor founded the academy of fine arts, which attracts artists from all over the world to the state capital and who continue to play a key role in shaping Düsseldorf's vibrant art scene to this day. VIVID asked five of them to talk about their life and work in the city.

Art and business: how do they fit together? One answer could be corporate collections, which make an important contribution to companies, employees and the public. Companies like to promote how open, creative and versatile they are. Image brochures from a wide range of industries are peppered with these slogans. But how do they translate into a culture of values that is actually lived? And how can this be credibly communicated both internally and externally?

250 years of the Art Academy, 250 years of art history in Düsseldorf. Hardly any other institution defines the city like the world-famous art academy with its wide corridors and spacious studios and workshops, which have produced artists such as Gerhard Richter, Andreas Gursky and Katharina Grosse.

In each VIVID, we present three start-ups from Düsseldorf and the surrounding area - usually in line with the current issue's theme. But what about art? Are there any fresh ideas from Düsseldorf? Fresh art ideas, so to speak? Of course there are!

Art not only has aesthetic and emotional components - in addition to the possibility of buying and collecting it out of passion, more and more people are seeing the acquisition of works of art as an investment opportunity.

Auctions have become increasingly popular: While they used to be a sales tool for the trade, many more private individuals are now taking part, with wines, watches, jewellery and even sneakers being auctioned off alongside art. In an interview with VIVID, Benny Höhne, the NRW representative of the Grisebach auction house, provides an exciting insight into the world of auctions.

Louisa Clement's work has been displayed in numerous exhibitions around the world and she has been honoured with several awards, most recently the Bonn Art Prize. VIVID editor Rainer Kunst spoke to her about her training with Gursky, dealing with pressure and her own vulnerability, the power of art in the world and Düsseldorf as a centre for the arts.

When the NFT hype began in early 2021, a new age of digital art seemed to be dawning. Three years later, non fungible tokens barely figure, at least in public discourse. It's like so many phenomena spawned by digital transformation: just as quickly as they become the next big thing, they disappear. Meanwhile, the development of digital art, which is far more than NFTs and began long before they existed, continues - artists are using digital tools to create new art forms that have the potential to stay.