Founded in 1986, Kewenig has developed into an international gallery operating spaces in Berlin and Palma de Mallorca
The gallery is accompanying, supporting and promoting the careers of the most successful modern and contemporary artists. While Jule Kewenig remains in charge of the Palma space, Justus F. Kewenig took over the gallery in Berlin from his late father Michael O. Kewenig in 2017, thus leading the family-run business into the next generation.
The gallery was founded as Jule Kewenig Galerie in Frechen near Cologne, opening with an exhibition of paintings by Hendrik Krawen. From the beginning, the programme thrived on the extraordinary Cologne art scene of the 1980s, balancing exhibitions by young local artists with more established names stemming from the Arte Povera movement. In 2002, the gallery moved from the family house to Appellhofplatz in central Cologne.
In 2004, a second gallery venue was opened on the island of Mallorca with an exhibition by Markus Lüpertz. The new space is located in the heart of Palma’s historic center, occupying a medieval chapel from the 13th century. The venue introduces artists from the gallery programme while fostering strong ties with local artists.
After more than 25 years in the Rhineland, Kewenig relocated from Cologne to Berlin in 2013. An exhibition by Christian Boltanski inaugurated the new gallery, located in a building from 1688 on Museum Island that counts among Berlin’s oldest remaining townhouses. An electric power sub-station in Berlin-Moabit, built in 1901 by the renowned architect Franz Schwechten, has become the gallery’s warehouse and showroom for large-scale installations.