Esther Schipper founded the gallery in 1989 in Cologne. A one-woman operation, the gallery began exhibiting with a core group of 5-6 artists, all of whom continue to be an integral part of the gallery
’s program. Many of the artists with whom Esther Schipper has worked since the 1990s are central figures in radically rethinking the exhibition as form. This paradigmatic shift in the notion of exhibitions has been a central tenet of the gallery’s practice. From its beginnings, activities went beyond exhibitions to include lectures, talks, performances, and musical events, decisively shaping the gallery's mission as a site of experimentation and an engaged, discursive environment.
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| Esther Schipper |
| Esther Schipper is a contemporary art gallery based in Berlin, Germany, and spaces in Paris, France and Seoul, South Korea. |
| Esther Schipper founded the gallery in 1989 in Cologne. A one-woman operation, the gallery began exhibiting with a core group of 5-6 artists, all of whom continue to be an integral part of the gallery’s program. Many of the artists with whom Esther Schipper has worked since the 1990s are central figures in radically rethinking the exhibition as form. This paradigmatic shift in the notion of exhibitions has been a central tenet of the gallery’s practice. From its beginnings, activities went beyond exhibitions to include lectures, talks, performances, and musical events, decisively shaping the gallery's mission as a site of experimentation and an engaged, discursive environment. In the mid-1990s, the gallery operated spaces in both Cologne and Berlin where many artists moved after German Reunification. In 1997 the gallery moved its entire operation to the German capital. Since then, the gallery has relocated several times within Berlin to accommodate the expanding architectural and technical requirements for its ambitious exhibition projects. Collaborating with cutting-edge architectural firms, each gallery location had a distinct style: the first Berlin locations were designed by Caruso St John and by Arno Brandlhuber, while the current premises and offices, inaugurated in 2017, were designed by Annabelle Selldorf, who thirty years earlier had already designed the Cologne gallery. The new location in Seoul is designed by the New York-based studioMDA. In 2014 Florian Wojnar became a partner in the company. In May 2015 Esther Schipper took over Johnen Galerie, integrating the program under the Esther Schipper name. Jörg Johnen had opened his gallery in Cologne in 1984 and organized more than 250 exhibitions, first as Johnen+Schöttle in Cologne, and after 2004 as Johnen Galerie in Berlin. With this step, Esther Schipper significantly expanded the program to include artists working in a wide range of artistic practices. Two new venues, in Seoul and in Paris, opened in Fall 2022. Esther Schipper, Seoul is situated in the Geyonglidan-street area of central Seoul, in a newly renovated building designed by studioMDA. Across three floors of a free-standing building, the space features two intimate showrooms, two offices and a rooftop deck with expansive views of the Namsan area. With its small, exclusive premises, Esther Schipper, Seoul is a springboard to continue supporting gallery artists with institutional projects in Korea, working with Korean gallery partnerships and Korea-based artists. |
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