Zilkens' News Blog

Zilkens' News Blog 22 2026

Last Wednesday was the big day: the first scholarship holders from Support Artists in Exile Cologne e.V. presented their works in a moving exhibition. Anas Kahal from Damascus has captured his memories of the civil war in Syria in film sequences that bring home the anonymity of the hordes shooting wildly, countered by a poetic work by Majd Suliman from Aleppo set to the overture of Rimsky -Korsakov’s Scheherazade, centred on a dancing wheelchair that vainly spreads its peacock feathers. Together, this creates a deeply moving moment, the language of which was understood by everyone present. The exhibition runs until the end of June and the artists would be delighted if you could drop by. Please arrange a visit via the artists – contact details available through us.

Notre Dame in Paris burned down just under seven years ago. It stands once more thanks to the support of a few super-rich individuals with a sense of social responsibility, as well as international solidarity and the exchange of expertise. The 19th-century windows were to be replaced by contemporary ones by Claire Tabouret. Not so fast, thought a few ossified conservationists of just about every gender, and they took legal action against the project. Tough luck – a court in Paris has ruled that contemporary adaptations within existing architectural structures are permitted. So things are still allowed to evolve – even in France.

However, nothing reasonable seems to be developing in Turkey and, even if no one says so openly, this country is moving further and further away from the values we in Europe wish to uphold. Freedom is one of them, and it is being trampled underfoot by a completely corrupt judiciary in the country whenever it suits Erdogan and his entourage. It also appears not to be a reliable partner within NATO. But it is geostrategically significant – does that mean we have to let everything slide?

Ulrike Lehmann had a brilliant idea for the title of her new book: “The Picasso Strategy”, but the gatekeepers, known as Picasso’s heirs, were against it. Now it’s called: “Creative Leadership – How Leaders Can Learn from Artists like Picasso”. The beauty of it is: she hasn’t given up hope that future generations in management will once again recognise the value of engaging with art. We should all support her in this.

Relationships only harm those who have none – an old adage, often ignored by those who currently have none. Max Hollein, the director of the Metropolitan Museum in New York and a creative mind, fortunately has plenty. On the one hand, with Ronald Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, and on the other with a host of generous sponsors who are enabling him to ensure that the Metropolitan takes over the Neue Galerie in New York in 2028 – and with it the collection and the building! The increase in value is likely to run into the billions, if one takes the auction results just achieved in New York as a benchmark. In a way, it’s heartening to know that the Neue Galerie now has a secure future.

Mergers can sometimes be successful, as the recent examples of Barmenia and Gothaer, and Helvetia and Baloise, demonstrate. Both companies report significantly improved results, which were not achieved solely through the well-known economies of scale – though those played a part.

In Baden-Württemberg, the dream of reducing bureaucracy is being approached differently. Most measures are being called into question, and if the authorities do not provide a sufficiently plausible justification for the necessity of the measure within a short period of time, it is deemed obsolete – 'Fott domet!' But how does one deal with regulations from Brussels?

With this in mind, I wish everyone a summery start to the shortened working week, together with the team at Zilkens Fine Art Insurance Broker in Cologne and Solothurn.

Yours, Stephan Zilkens