On friday 29th the Bloom creative industries art show opened its doors for the second time in Cologne. Staged in cooperation with the art.fair at the Staatenhaus am Rheinpark, Bloom is  dedicated to a variety of disciplines. Art galleries presented alongside with graphic-, interior-, and gamedesigners, musicians, performance artists and even a few fashion designers found their space to show their newest (or sometimes not so new) work.

From street to gallery art was set next to next level light installations by Lichtfaktor or colognebased visual and light artist Jojo Tillman. Striking in painting and realism drawing work was a majority of asian exhibitors.  To the authors pleasure figurative drawings as well as sculptural works where few, yet impressively precise, witty and still affordable.

At the heart of the fair, with a little „prunk und protzi“ the Bloom Award ceremony took place. The Award, sporsored by german brewery Warsteiner for  the second time, is dotiert with an art mentorship and the opportunity to show at the Art Basel Miami. Hosted by  Joko Winterstedt, the audience had a good share of a little MTV glam, free beer and arty talk. Winner 2011 is Lukas Francikzkiewicz with his video installation „beta“ (Link bei youtube). „Beta“ is a critical , yet quiet exploration of 21st century man-mashine-relationships and the proximity of need and addiction towards todays  information technology.

Meanwhile upstairs at the elegant Goldsaal a more settled art scene had canned 4711 Sekt  and hors d’euvre while discussing (more likely than purchasing) selected exhibitors of 20th century popart classics such as Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz, Norbert Bisky and Stephan Kaluza.

Downstairs, with the more fair traded art and parties one old friend was missing. Pieter Brenner (Bloom Award nominee and probably known from an earlier mentioning on hortsundedeltraud.com)  unfortunaltely did not show up to lick on his sugarchair and tell the audience about his view on arts future.

Bloom creative industries art show // Staatenhaus am Rheinpark // Cologne // 29.10 – 01.11. 2011

© Photos & Text by Pia Drechsel cargocollective.com