German gallery in Cologne, dealing in contemporary art. Maenz exhibited, loaned, and sold works by conceptual artists and the German neo-Expressionist painters. Correspondence, financial files, artists' biographies, press clippings, printed matter, and photographs cover virtually every facet of the gallery's operations, 1970-1990. The photograph files comprise approximately half of the archive and document works by artists and most of the gallery's exhibitions.

Galerie Paul Maenz Köln was instrumental in introducing avant-garde art of the 1970s and 1980s to what was initially a German audience, but would later move beyond to the rest of Europe and North America. The gallery functioned as a facilitator for artists to realize their work in a new context. This was particularly important in the early years of the gallery, which focused on the difficult-to-exhibit Conceptual Art. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the gallery embraced the new painting of the young Italian Trans-avantgardists and the German Neo-Expressionists. With the help of Maenz's representation, the German artists in particular had a profound impact on Cologne's importance as a cultural and artistic center.

ca. 40 linear feet (89 boxes)

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