Galerie Karsten Greve

What Galerie Karsten Greve does

Galerie Karsten Greve is a privately held, founder-owned international art gallery established by Karsten Greve in 1969, with physical gallery locations in Cologne (since 1973), Paris/Marais (since 1989), and St. Moritz (since 1999). The gallery represents approximately 57 artists spanning modernist masters and established contemporary figures, including Louise Bourgeois, Cy Twombly, John Chamberlain, Pierre Soulages, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Jannis Kounellis, Roger Ballen, and Josef Albers. Its primary business is the commission-based sale of artworks from this roster to high-net-worth collectors, museums, and institutions, transacted through gallery exhibitions, international art fair participation (Art Basel, TEFAF, FIAC, Paris Photo, among others), and an inquiry-based sales system. A secondary revenue stream consists of bibliophile exhibition catalogues and posters sold online and at the galleries in limited editions.

The technology layer is intentionally light: a trilingual (German, English, French) gallery website built with Cologne-based web partner HD Hochhaus Digital GmbH, content-managed to display artists, exhibitions, news, and publications, with e-commerce functionality for publications via advance bank transfer (Vorkasse). The Mailpro newsletter platform (Maxony Group, Switzerland) handles subscriber communications. No API, SDK, mobile app, or AI/ML capability is exposed or disclosed. Distribution relies on three physical gallery spaces, a dense international art fair calendar, social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube), and an institutional placement pipeline (Tate Britain, V&A, MoMA, Centre Pompidou, Bourse de Commerce).

The go-to-market is a classic primary-market gallery model: long-tenured artist relationships, exclusive representation, curated exhibition programming, and direct personal selling to UHNW collectors and acquisition committees. The owner has not raised external capital, has no parent company, and the firm is organized as three separate legal entities across jurisdictions (AG in Switzerland, s.r.l. in France, e.K. in Germany), with no disclosed subsidiaries. Revenue, headcount, and transaction volume are not publicly disclosed, limiting financial transparency.

Name

Galerie Karsten Greve

Legal name

GALERIE KARSTEN GREVE AG

Website

https://galerie-karsten-greve.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Galerie Karsten Greve is a privately held international art gallery founded in 1969 with three European locations (Cologne, Paris, St. Moritz), representing approximately 57 artists and selling primary-market artworks to high-net-worth collectors and museums through gallery exhibitions, international art fairs, and an inquiry-based sales model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemporary Art Gallery

NAICS

Art Dealers (459920)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Contemporary art gallery
• Modern art dealer
• Fine art exhibitions
• Artist representation
• Art fair participation

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Artwork Sales: Primary revenue stream from commission on sales of artworks by represented artists. Works are sold through gallery exhibitions, private sales, and art fair participation.
2. Publications and Catalogues: Sale of exhibition catalogues, brochures, and posters. Publications are available for purchase online (e.g., Josef Albers catalogue at €60, Asylum of the Birds poster at €25) and shipped internationally.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Galerie Karsten Greve is an international art gallery that represents and exhibits over 57 contemporary and modern artists across painting, sculpture, photography, and installation at three gallery locations in Cologne, Paris, and St. Moritz. The gallery earns revenue through commissions on artwork sales conducted via gallery exhibitions, private treaty negotiations, and participation in major international art fairs. Additionally, the gallery produces and sells bibliophile exhibition catalogues, posters, and publications through an e-commerce shop.

Product overview

Galerie Karsten Greve operates as an international art gallery with three physical locations (Köln, Paris, St. Moritz) and an online presence. The gallery's core offering centers on representing and exhibiting over 60 artists working across painting, drawing, graphic arts, sculpture, installation, and photography. The portfolio includes modernist masters (Josef Albers, Cy Twombly, Louise Bourgeois) alongside contemporary artists. Supporting the exhibition program, the gallery produces and sells bibliophile catalogue editions and publications, participates in major international art fairs, and maintains a newsletter subscription service for exhibition updates. An online shop enables purchase of publications. The three locations operate independently while sharing the same artist roster and programming philosophy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gallery Exhibitions (Köln, Paris, St. Moritz) Physical gallery exhibition spaces across three European locations (Cologne, Paris, and St. Moritz) displaying and offering for sale works by represented artists including Josef Albers, Eugène Atget, Roger Ballen, Louise Bourgeois, Cy Twombly, Lucio Fontana, Pierre Soulages, John Chamberlain, and over 50 other artists spanning painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and photography.
• Publications and Catalogues Bibliophile catalogue editions and publications documenting gallery exhibitions and artist monographs, available for purchase through the online shop and shipped internationally. Titles include Josef Albers (1989), Asylum of the Birds by Roger Ballen (2014), and exhibition catalogues for Lucio Fontana, John Chamberlain, and Louis Soutter, available in German, English, and French editions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Contributed to worldwide recognition of artists including Louise Bourgeois, Pierrette Bloch, Gotthard Graubner, Pierre Soulages, Piero Manzoni, and Cy Twombly

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pace Gallery: Pace is a leading international gallery with major locations in New York, London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Geneva, and elsewhere, representing postwar and contemporary masters and competing directly for museum acquisitions and estate representation. Its multi-continent footprint and roster depth make it a direct incumbent peer.
• David Zwirner: David Zwirner is a global contemporary gallery with galleries in New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles, representing estate-driven artists at the highest end of the market. It competes for both institutional acquisitions and primary representation of estates held by Galerie Karsten Greve's roster.
• Hauser & Wirth: Hauser & Wirth is a global gallery representing major postwar and contemporary artists across locations in Zurich, London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Somerset. Comparable to Galerie Karsten Greve in artist tier and focus on historically significant estates, with significantly broader geographic distribution.
• Gagosian: Gagosian is the largest global blue-chip contemporary art gallery, operating more than 18 exhibition spaces across the US, Europe, and Asia and representing artists at a similar tier of prestige (including historically significant postwar and contemporary masters). It is the most relevant broad incumbent peer because it competes for the same HNW collectors and museum placements.

Direct peers

• Marian Goodman Gallery:

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqvg8zM7xTdw4nKIuBm9wBQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/galeriekarstengreve
• Instagraminstagram.com/galeriekarstengreve
• Pinterestpinterest.de/gkarstengreve
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/galerie-karsten-greve

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Galerie Karsten Greve