The Friedmann-Hahn Gallery in Charlottenburg is a place where contemporary art not only captivates the viewer visually but also emotionally. For 20 years, the gallery has been presenting works that blend a keen sense of current trends with craftsmanship. The focus of the collection is on figurative painting, where art-historical traditions such as still life are translated into the language of the present. Photography is also used as a creative tool to open up new perspectives. The portfolio is further enriched by outstanding sculptors and artists from the Urban Art scene. The gallery currently represents twenty international artists whose works are showcased in solo and group exhibitions as well as at national and international art fairs.

The Friedmann-Hahn Gallery is a place of dialogue, where art is not only viewed but also discussed and experienced. Through regular openings, artist talks, and events, the gallery promotes interaction between art and the public, creating a space where art comes alive.

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"Every beginning has its magic," wrote Hermann Hesse. When the Commeter Art Gallery opened in 1821 on Johannisstraße, it was the first business of its kind in Hamburg. The founders, Ernst Georg Harzen and Johann Matthias Commeter, significantly shaped the city's art scene and left a lasting legacy with 30,000 engravings and drawings that founded the Kupferstichkabinett at the Kunsthalle. In 1847, Wilhelm Becker and Christian Meyer took over the gallery, which was further developed by Wilhelm Suhr in 1878 and moved to a magnificent Art Nouveau building in 1908. Suhr Junior led the gallery into the modern era, showcasing Munch, Nolde, and other Expressionists, becoming a key address for modern art. In 1952, Andreas Suhr took over, followed by his daughter Hella Suhr. Today, Carola Persiehl, a descendant of the founders, runs the gallery and features contemporary artists such as Jochen Hein, Maria Ikonomopoulou, and Klaus Schweier. In 2007, she co-founded the sister gallery Persiehl & Heine, specializing in contemporary photography. The gallery’s legacy of art enthusiasm and business acumen continues to thrive.

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Specialising in German Expressionist and Classical Modernist works on paper, Thole Rotermund Kunsthandel has been one of the leading contacts for collectors throughout Europe in this field for over 20 years. The focus is on important artists of the early 20th century: August Macke, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, Alexej von Jawlensky, Lyonel Feininger, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde and others. But the abstract tendencies of early post-war art, such as Ernst Wilhelm Nay and Eduard Bargheer, are also represented. The enthusiasm and passion is for the medium of paper. This is linked to the joy of the freedom, intimacy and immediacy of hand drawing in all its forms and its spontaneous and emotional – but often also fully mature – artistic character, which never ceases to fascinate.

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For more than two decades, Galerie Holzhauer Hamburg has called an old factory loft in Hamburg-Ottensen its home. Gallery owner Angela Holzhauer regularly showcases her program at art fairs and on board the MS EUROPA 2. She has a particular affinity for works on paper – drawings, printmaking, and folds – as well as sculpture. In recent years, the program has expanded to include increasingly more international artists who work conceptually and installatively. The gallery has gained significant recognition through its long-standing collaboration with Georges Adéagbo, the "grand-père" of African conceptual art, highlighted by an acquisition by the Hamburger Kunsthalle in 2024.

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Thomas Holthoff sees his mission as bringing together the experience of seeing art, engaging in conversation, and connecting a journey with a visit to the gallery on board. That is what he hopes to offer guests. Artists view the world through their own unique lens — they challenge us, invite dialogue, and open up new perspectives. In times of confusion, questions, and doubt, it is often these encounters that people seek — and find — both in the gallery and on board. When selecting artists, Thomas Holthoff is first and foremost interested in the individual: their inner world, their modes of expression, and their artistic attitude. As a gallerist, he sees himself as a bridge between artist and viewer. His goal is to spark curiosity and inspire a genuine desire to engage with art. His work also regularly touches on the margins of society — for example, through his long-standing collaboration with Atelier Freistil, which has been ongoing for eight years, or through his exploration of new, forward-looking fields such as Contemporary AI. In this context, Thomas Holthoff curated an exhibition in 2025 for the international law firm Taylor Wessing. And sometimes, everything can be said in a single sentence: “Anyone who doesn’t want to think gets kicked out — of themselves.” (Joseph Beuys)

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Davidoff blurs the boundaries between figuration and abstraction. Total graphic reduction in black and white clearly emphasises the contrast between nature and culture, while abstractly lined up surfaces of the background suggest three-dimensionality to the viewer. The metal works in particular also use the instrument of fusion: the heterogeneously processed surfaces seek to play with the light so that the viewer perceives the depicted in a variety of ways through the reflection. The brightly coloured, contoured, almost woodcut-like paintings demonstrate the full range of vitality that nature and man can offer. Reflective surfaces, sometimes broken in on themselves, refer once again to the interplay, the antipodal nature of nature and culture. Davidoff perceives the world in his pictures as an organic cycle of creation and dissolution, the traces of which he depicts in his paintings. Like Anselm Kiefer or Günther Förg, Jan Davidoff often uses found objects from his environment in his works. For example, he uses patinated historical copper plates as well as industrial steel or glass alongside the canvas as a picture support. In this way, he creates the multi-layered pictures typical of the artist, in which the background and foreground seem to intertwine in many ways.

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Thomas Pöllmann creates abstract works in which layered colors form dynamic structures full of movement and depth. Using spatulas, knives, and trowels, he continuously alters the surface, giving each piece its own expressive character. The intensity arises from his choice of colors and the technique of overpainting, which reveals hidden layers. Intuition and chance work together, resulting in compositions defined by their complexity and spontaneous development. These abstract works follow no fixed rules but unfold through the creative process itself. This freedom allows emotional and visual tension to emerge, inviting viewers to form their own interpretations. Color and structure merge into a unified whole that combines both rhythmic and impulsive elements. Each layer introduces a new dynamic and opens up fresh perspectives, creating a vibrant surface that captures the moment of its creation. Through his technique and deliberate choice of materials, Thomas Pöllmann enables endless variation. His works reflect a deep engagement with the possibilities of painterly expression and demonstrate how the interplay of intuition and experimental approach can lead to unique visual worlds.

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Felix Eckardt (born 1975 near Hamburg) is a contemporary German painter known for his atmospheric urban and landscape scenes. He studied painting in Hamburg and Madrid, and his work has been exhibited internationally—in cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, and Zurich—as well as at art fairs including Art Karlsruhe and Kunst Zürich. He is represented by galleries such as Gudberg Nerger (Hamburg) and Samuelis Baumgarte (Bielefeld). In 2022, his widely acclaimed art book Lichtarbeit was published. Contributions in DIE ZEIT along with features on ZDF, NDR, and Phoenix underline his established reputation. His studio in Hamburg also serves as a vibrant venue for art and music events.

Photocredit Marc Seelen

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JB FineArts was founded in 2012 by Jessica Bauer in Hamburg, after having worked for almost 15 years in various fields of the international art market. Following her studies in history of art at the University of London and Florence, she completed a graduate trainee program at Sotheby’s auction house. Jessica then went on to work in New York, not only in the big auction houses, but also in a well known gallery, where she collected varied experience. Contacts to artists were made at this time already, and were quite useful when it came to setting up her own gallery. The discovery and promotion of young international artists, but also some regional talents, is the main focus.

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