Zilkens' News Blog

Zilkens' News Blog 37 2025

Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor for 19 years from 161 to 180, who died in a military camp near Vienna, can be seen in an exhibition at the Landesmuseum in Trier, featuring first-class loans from museums in Paris, Rome and other locations. It's well worth a visit. And if you're lucky enough to be guided through the exhibition by Dr Marcus Reuter, the director of the museum, it's twice as worthwhile. You'll gain a better understanding of the context and meet someone who is passionate about his work and able to pass on the torch. The economic context is not neglected either: the last exhibition at the State Museum cost EUR 4 million and generated a measured return of EUR 19 million for the local economy, almost five times the investment. Cultural institutions tend to go on the defensive when politicians put pressure on them and want to cut funding. Bullshit would be more appropriate, because culture pays into many accounts, many of which do not let themselves be measured. Off to Trier!

Hergen Wöbken has worked again and, in collaboration with the Federal Association of German Galleries, examined the situation of the latter. Somehow, everything has become a little less and the German market remains decentralised. One could perhaps argue about whether the method used really produces valid results or just a snapshot of the mood, because the feedback is voluntary – and whether there are only 700 galleries in Germany also seems questionable to me. If the figure were correct, then 63% of all galleries in Germany would be concentrated in Berlin, because the Senate counts 440 galleries in Berlin. Another source counts 559 galleries in Hamburg, 431 in Cologne and 14,481 throughout Germany (as of June 2025). Many of them will live out their enthusiasm for the arts shortly before self-exploitation. In other words, the scene is more colourful than portrayed.

Daniel Buchholz, who runs his gallery in Cologne and Berlin, now also has premises in New York, we hear.

R+V Insurance is restructuring its broker support. It's not new for insurers to do this, but it is surprising that the reorganisation will see brokers given different agency numbers for private and commercial/industrial business, with portfolios allocated accordingly. We don't know where the little plant art will end up. We love it, but the turnover is not significant. With such a perfectionist effort, the thought arises that the company is to be split into two economically independent parts, which can be separated more easily later on.

In Limoges, several valuable Chinese porcelain pieces were stolen from the museum's collection during the night of 3 to 4 September. The rumoured damage amounts to 6 million EUR, reminiscent of Cologne, where Chinese porcelain was also stolen from the MOK. The pieces are too prominent – they cannot be sold on the market – but perhaps there is a Chinese collector (why not a female collector?) who admires his stolen treasures in his basement.

Two weeks ago, we discussed the declining competence of German universities in international comparison. One of the causes seems to be narrow-mindedness and arrogance: one example is the RWTH in Aachen (malicious tongues translate RWTH as ‘Really Disgusting Technocrats' Stronghold’). Bologna and the resulting bachelor's and master's degree programmes were intended to lead to greater permeability for students and make it easier to transfer from one university to another. The Aacheners have now rejected prospective students from Weimar with considerably more than the necessary qualification points, stating that Weimar does not meet Aachen's requirements for a master's degree. How stupid is that? Or do the selecting bureaucrats at the university, among whom there are also female members, have a prejudice against educational institutions in eastern Germany?

There are several art fairs again this week. The furthest away from us is Sydney Contemporary... Vienna Contemporary is closer and starts next Thursday and has the advantage that you can experience Viennese humour live. After the DC (Düsseldorf/Cologne) Open, which ended at the weekend and let quite a few people wander through the galleries, now comes Berlin Art Week and with it the Positions fair in Hangar 7 at Tempelhof Airport. Incidentally, on the opening day, we will be awarding the Best Booth prize for the fourth time – the award for the booth that, in the opinion of a jury, has brought the most interesting concept – and on Friday we are delighted to be able to present awards to two artists from the Academy Section.

A full week awaits us, at the end of which local elections in Germany will bring results that we will report on afterwards.

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