Zilkens' News Blog

Zilkens' News Blog 17 2026

Another week like this for stock market speculators who bet on rising or falling prices. Open the Strait of Hormuz – close the Strait of Hormuz! Let’s see how many times this happens again. For predictable economic planning, this is poison. For gamblers, it can lead to great wealth. The American President’s friends will soon have to finance quite a few things – in return for a donation receipt, of course: a gigantic Presidential Library in Miami and a triumphal arch in Washington that is larger than its Parisian counterpart, which already towers well above its Roman models. Architectural eyesores are set to spring up in the land of opportunity, which will probably be difficult to remove and may one day remind the country that when electing its presidents (you know the sort), one shouldn’t vote for the loudmouth.

Speaking of America: the Foundation for Art and Culture e.V. is still seeking sponsors for a major exhibition in Hangar 7 in Berlin, which could open on 4 July to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. A further 2.2 million – tax-deductible – is still needed to realise an exciting project that Trump will certainly not appreciate. It could be the first major German retrospective exhibition of American art in over 30 years. How are female artists and their male counterparts responding to the current situation in the USA? How does the division of society, its polarisation and radicalisation, affect them? What contribution do they wish to make to ensure that the liberal ideals of democracy continue to prevail? Companies wishing to help make this exhibition happen are asked to contact the foundation. Many seem to fear Big Brother’s revenge – a pity, as at the same time they accuse the German government of not representing Europe’s interests decisively enough vis-à-vis the Trump administration. Support Artists in Exile Cologne e.V. is prepared to accept applications for grants from artists based in the USA.

Iran, Israel, Russia and the USA are on the official list of participants for this year’s Venice Biennale. According to the official narrative, these countries are at war, partly against one another, partly against third countries. There are over 100 further armed conflicts worldwide – from Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia and the Congo, through Lebanon to Syria and the border regions of Turkey – which are not designated as wars but nevertheless cause suffering to the people affected. Two years ago, the Israeli pavilion in Venice was closed and Russia had made its pavilion available to Bolivia. Now Russia, whose attack on Ukraine also threatens Europe and thus Italy, is set to participate again – fortunately, there are widespread protests against this. Some take the view that no country currently waging war should take part in the Biennale. That would then also apply to the USA in the 250th year since its Declaration of Independence.

The fairs in Milan and Düsseldorf have just come to an end – Kobel reports. It is easy to forget that in the run-up to the fairs, the entire infrastructure has to be brought into the venues so that a picture can be hung somewhere. As time is not unlimited and the halls incur rental costs, the schedules are tightly packed – just ask the logistics specialists who manage Art Basel in Hong Kong. They have from 8.00 pm, when the fair closes on Sundays, until 4.00 am on Monday to completely clear the convention centre. At the Böhler Areal in Düsseldorf, there was still not a single wall on which to hang pictures at Easter. The haulage contractor responsible for transporting the exhibition walls to the Böhler site was unable to deploy his vehicles at short notice due to technical problems. No replacement could be found: two days before Good Friday, for a delivery immediately after Easter, a Europe-wide telephone campaign – in which around sixty haulage contractors were contacted – yielded no results. The fair was facing a worst-case scenario. To avoid having to cancel, Walter Gehlen, Director of ART DÜSSELDORF, picked up the phone: in the early hours of the morning, he rang the Managing Director of Hasenkamp out of bed – and asked for help. Dr Thomas Schneider took charge of the matter. Within a few hours, he managed to mobilise hauliers from his network and convince them to prioritise Düsseldorf. A sufficient number of specialised 40-tonne lorries were on standby, the stand-building materials reached the exhibition grounds — and ART DÜSSELDORF 2026 was able to go ahead. The fair was saved. Thanks to Hasenkamp

In the 1990s, the President of the Federal Constitutional Court was Jutta Limbach, who stood for a liberal, rule-of-law approach and enjoyed a high reputation. Benjamin Limbach, her son and the Green Minister of Justice for North Rhine-Westphalia, is more associated with opaque personnel decisions and well-intentioned but extremely narrow-minded legislative initiatives designed to regulate gender relations yet achieving the opposite effect. In all seriousness, he wants to make it a criminal offence for men to whistle at women. Of course, such behaviour is bad manners, an expression of a lack of upbringing, and correlates quite directly with the educational background of the whistler. What is certain is that the implementation of this legislative proposal is keeping lawyers busy and creating further employment opportunities for the profession. The taking of evidence will be interesting, the proceedings even more so, and we shan’t even mention the costs. What actually happens if the women being whistled at respond with explicit gestures that at the very least constitute an offence of insult? Surely the aim was to reduce bureaucracy – or is the legislative initiative intended for the thousands in the justice system whose jobs would be at risk from such cuts? There is, however, no sign of the latter – job cuts in government departments? Only in the privately funded sector, not in the administration funded by taxpayers’ money...

Finally, some good news: Han Byul Jung has been appointed Head of Underwriting Fine Art & Specie at Liberty in Switzerland, succeeding David Saillen in this role. We offer our warmest congratulations.

Wishing everyone a week filled with inspiring art – give freedom a chance!

Stephan Zilkens and the team at Zilkens Fine Art Insurance Broker GmbH in Solothurn and Cologne