Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2020 English Edition
Editorial Dear readers Last October, we exhibited at Highlights International Art Fair Munich. It was a very pleasant experience, the fair being small but very fine – indeed most charming and exclusive and with thorough security and hygiene measures implemented. Our booth was literally inside the splendid late-sixteenth-century entrance lobby of the Residenz. There, my ancient sculpture of Dionysos looked towards a great Renaissance bronze of Artemis in the most suggestive way. The reception was most positive and business was solid. It shows that fairs are irreplaceable, though perhaps there should be fewer of them. Several weeks later, we presented the exhibition Animals and Hybrids at the gallery as part of Antike in Basel, which much to our delight was attended by many old friends. It is clear that art lovers cannot be satisfied with even the most sophisticated of online devices. We all need the real thing. Nonetheless, we are placing considerable emphasis on digitalization by redeveloping the website and strengthening our online presence. You will see our new digital face in the Spring.
On the other hand, Cahn Contemporary has had (under the most difficult of circumstances) a successful exhibition in Paris with important individual visits by leading figures in Paris's contemporary art world. I am particularly grateful that Cahn Contemporary is now an official member of the Comité Professionnel des galleries d’art and will be included in FIAC's digital programme even this year. An exciting project this winter will be the preparation of a new large exhibition space in the heart of Basel, dedicated to contemporary art projects combined with archaeological material – we will keep you updated on this. This issue of Cahn’s Quarterly presents an important collection of ancient silver, that of Christian and Hedy Schmassmann, who with the assistance of my former employee, the archaeologist Gerburg Ludwig, published a beautiful catalogue. It is a pleasure to accompany collections in this way. The catalogue is reviewed independently by none other than Friederike Nau-
mann-Steckner, who was deputy director of the Römisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne from 1994 until her retirement in 2019. We have our usual sales catalogue, selected by Ulrike Haase, as well as various pieces discussed in greater detail by Gerburg Ludwig, Martin Flashar and myself. At the heart of this edition, however, lies an eight-page tribute to the memory of our cherished friend and colleague, John Robert Guy, who sadly passed away on July 4, 2020. My sincere thanks go to all who contributed to this tribute with texts and photographs. With it, we hope, if not to erect a monumentum aere perennius, at least to make tangible in a fairly lasting form, some of the important stations and outstanding achievements in Robert’s life.
Exhibiting at the Residenz, Highlights International Art Fair Munich 2020. Photograph: Michael Aust
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