Germany's largest art exhibition gets under way in Cologne

Over 200 exhibitors from 33 different countries will be on show at Germany's largest art fair, as the 52nd "Art Cologne" exhibition begins on Thursday.

The four-day event will put works from over 2,000 contemporary and classical modernist artists on display for art lovers and collectors.

"The art world has developed rapidly in the last 10 years," said director Daniel Hug on Wednesday at the exhibition's opening press conference.

Despite these changes, Germany remains one of the most important countries for 20th and 21st-century art, said Hug.

Although Art Cologne is the oldest art fair of its kind in the world, it is still seen as "fresh and exciting," said Kristian Jarmuschek, chairman of the Federal Association of German Galleries and Art Dealers in Germany (BVDG).

Offering art at sales fairs was an unusual concept when Art Cologne first took place in 1967, then referred to as the "Cologne Art Market." However, its format has since been replicated many times around the world.