David, Lucas, and Rudolf Zwirner with
Sylvester (2001) by Richard Serra, Glenstone, Potomac, Maryland, 2018. Courtesy David Zwirner Books.
Let’s start at the beginning. What led you to open your art gallery and, eventually, the fair that became Art Cologne?
After the Second World War, it was very empty in Germany. There were just about ten or 12 dealers after all the Jewish dealers had to leave the country—and most of the great dealers were Jewish.
At the end of the war, there were fantastic people who came back into politics—really fabulous people who spent years and years away during the war. They were really interested in bringing culture, in a democratic way, into the public. These people were really democratic and they suffered under Hitler—like Kurt Hackenberg, who was in charge of cultural affairs in Cologne. He was such an inventive figure. Without him, there would have been no way to organize an art fair [like Kunstmarket Köln, which became Art Cologne]. Looking back, I was really happy to spend my first years in art in a democratic city like Cologne.