Portraitserie XIII - Das Kunsthaus

Photographs 2011 - 2022

Around 50 artists work in the Kunsthaus Rhenania (artists house) in their studios at Cologne's marina on the Rhine.

Cologne's Atelierhaus Kunsthaus Rhenania is a melting pot for all branches of art. Accordingly, the range of "artist types" in the house is very wide. They can provide an insight into an art world that reflects the everyday, far removed from the art market.

The history of the artists' studios in Kunsthaus Rhenania began when the city of Cologne handed over the former granary to independent artists and free spirits in 1987. After many years of self-management, the house was renovated in 2004 and transferred to its current state. Today, about 50 artists are accommodated there. In the meantime, the warehouse, built in 1926, is surrounded by the crane houses of star architect Teherani, law firms such as Freshfields, companies such as Microsoft and luxury apartments. And if you regularly look out of your window in the building, you'll notice that the yachts in the harbor are getting bigger and bigger.

It is all the more astonishing that this jewel of culture has been able to survive so far. It is the only building in the newly developed Rheinauhafen area that has not yet been transferred to the luxury real estate market. A comparison with the famous Gallic village cannot be dismissed out of hand. And like the Gallic village, the Kunsthaus Rhenania stands for the most diverse types.

A documentary portrait series with a view of the microcosm of the Cologne studio house Kunsthaus Rhenania with its artists, as they hang out in the corridors and studios with their thoughts...