Art gallerySprüth Magers
A German gallery founded by two women, which made its name by showing women artists when few others would.
- Founded
- 1983, Cologne
- Founded by
- Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers
- Run from
- Berlin
- Spaces in
- 4 cities
- Highest reported sale
- $1.8 million
The gallery
Monika Sprüth opened her gallery in Cologne in 1983, when the city was the centre of the German art world and almost every artist shown in it was a man. She set out to change that, showing Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman and Rosemarie Trockel, and publishing a magazine, Eau de Cologne, given over to women artists.
Philomene Magers took over her mother's gallery in Bonn in 1989 and opened her own in Cologne two years later. The two joined forces in 1998. The gallery opened in London in 2003 and moved its centre to Berlin in 2008, to a building in Mitte.
Los Angeles followed in 2016, opposite the county museum, and New York more recently. The gallery remains closely tied to the artists it began with, and to the photographers Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Demand.
Reported sales
- George CondoTwo paintings, each$1.8 millionArt Basel Paris 2025
- George CondoOpen Forms, 2024$1.2 millionArt Basel Miami Beach 2025
- John BaldessariEmoji Series: INT. FRANK'S PENTHOUSE, 2017$500,000Art Basel 2026
Prices as the gallery reported them from its stand at the fair named. They are the seller's figures, usually the asking price, and cannot be checked.
Artists and estates
- Jenny Holzer
- Barbara Kruger
- Cindy Sherman
- Rosemarie Trockel
- Andreas Gursky
- Thomas Ruff
- Thomas Demand
- John Baldessari
- Ed Ruscha
- George Condo
- Peter Fischli & David Weiss
- Bridget Riley
- Kara Walker
- Sterling Ruby
- Joseph Kosuth
- Frank Stella
- Cao Fei
- Analia Saban
A selection. Rosters change, and the gallery's own site has the full list.
Milestones
- 1983Monika Sprüth opens her gallery in Cologne.
- 1998Sprüth and Magers merge their galleries.
- 2003London opens.
- 2008Berlin opens in Mitte and becomes the main gallery.
- 2016Los Angeles opens.