The German art dealer Johann König is one of the most reputed art collectors and gallerists worldwide. In addition, he boasts a massive collection of contemporary art worth millions of dollars in his gallery, named König Galerie.
Growing up in a family heavily involved in art, Johann knew that he wanted to work with artists and their projects from an early age. Nevertheless, an encounter with a horrific accident left him nearly blind when he was 11 years old, which shook his dream of working in the visually dominated field.
Despite all the hurdles and without any family support, Johann started his own gallery, and today he has established himself as a significant gallery owner across the globe.
Today, let's have a look at Johann König's biography and discover how he went from a broke entrepreneur to a multi-millionaire business owner.
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Early Life And Family
The distinguished art dealer, Johann, was born on 22nd July 1981 in Germany's largest and most populous city, Cologne. He was raised by his mother, Edda Köchl-König, and his father, Rudolf Hans König, better known as Kasper König.
Johann König's mother, who passed away in 2015, was an illustrator and German actress. Similarly, his father is a famous German art professor, museum director, and curator.
When Johann was seven years old, his father became director of the Städelschule in Frankfurt. Consequently, the König family relocated to Frankfurt, where young Johann spent his entire childhood.
While growing up, Johann was heavily influenced by his father's work as an art curator and museum director. Photo Source: Johann's Instagram.
Johann observed his father working with multiple high-profile artists like Dan Graham, M.C. Escher, On Kawara, Joseph Beuys, and Richard Artschwager. These close encounters with artists and their work had a considerable influence on young Johann. Furthermore, he had already decided to make a name in the field of arts.
Blind Gallerist From Berlin
Young König was a problematic child and was notorious for his disruptive behaviors at home and school alike. As such, he would often find himself in troubling situations.
When König was around 11 years old, he and his friends were fond of collecting gunpowder used for starting guns in races. They would later use them in their toy guns and explode them.
Unfortunately, one night, while handling these gunpowders, Johann met with a terrible accident that almost made him blind. He recalls these tiny white styrofoam bullets exploding in his hands, leaving a big hole behind.
Johann's parents immediately took him to the hospital, where doctors did numerous intense operations on his eyes for the next two days. Although he did not wholly lose his eyesight, the accident left him partially blind. Afterward, he was enrolled in a boarding school for blinds in Marburg.
Despite losing his vision at such a young age, König moved to Berlin at 21 and opened his own gallery, named König Galerie.
Johann's Prosperous Career
Aforementioned, Johann opened his gallery named König Galerie when he moved from Marburg to Berlin. At the time, he had not even finished school and was just 21 years of age. Although you would think being the son of an influential father in the industry, it was no big deal for Johann. But, the young entrepreneur did not get any support from his family.
On the contrary, his father, Kasper, repeatedly tried to stop him from opening the gallery and persuaded him to make a different career choice.
Before opening the gallery, Johann borrowed around $18,000 from his uncle, Walther König, to pay for the expenses of the gallery. However, the funds were not enough, and he went into debt after just a couple of months of opening. Yet, Johann slowly worked his way up through sheer hard work and passion despite difficult financial situations.
Consequently, just a few years later, he became popular across Germany as a blind gallerist from Berlin.
König Galerie Success And International Recognition
Since opening König Galerie in 2002, Johann has established the gallery as one of the prominent art distributors and exhibitors across Europe.
Art Basel, Frieze Art Fair, and Art Cologne are just a few of the esteemed art fairs that the gallery participates in.
The gallery's primary focus is on museum exhibitions. Moreover, Johann is credited with introducing many up-and-coming artists and artisans through his company.
König was frequently named in ArtReview's "Power 100" list. In 2011, he and Helen Marten were awarded the FIAC Prix Lafayette for their solo exhibition "Take a stick and make it sharp," which was deemed "the greatest exhibition project presented by an emerging gallery." Likewise, in 2016, Johann König received the Berlin Architecture Award.
Leading to its success, König Galerie opened a second location in a former underground car park in London in 2017, followed by a third branch in Tokyo's MCM-building, which opened in November 2019 with a Juergen Teller show.
In March 2020, just at the start of the newly imposed lockdown restrictions, he launched the 10 am Series on Instagram, which featured daily conversations with his artists, collectors, and curators.
Johann König Net Worth And Earnings
Over the years, Johann has established himself as a prominent figure in the arts and crafts industry and regularly deals with art pieces worth thousands of dollars. Owing to this, people can't help but wonder about all the fortune he has amassed over the years.
The German gallerist has been distributing and exhibiting art pieces for about two decades. As such, Johann König's net worth primarily consists of his earnings as an art dealer.
As reported by ZipRecruiter, the average salary of an art dealer is around $56,000, which varies depending upon the number of exhibits and art pieces sold. Given Johann's dominance and recognition in the field, his income must be around the same range or even higher. Furthermore, he earns an additional sum of money through ticket sales of his shows.
Johann König is able to afford a lavish and carefree lifestyle, thanks to his income as an art dealer and gallery owner. Photo Source: Johann's Instagram.
Johann König's net worth has increased significantly in recent years. Besides, he continues to open branches in different parts of the world and exhibit his art collection at various prestigious events. Although Johann has not publicly spoken about his earnings, we can safely assume he boasts assets worth millions.
Married Man With Children
Being the owner of one of the most prestigious art galleries, Johann frequently attracts media and public attention. However, the art dealer is adamant about keeping his family's life secret, and very little is known about his wife and children.
Nevertheless, it is a known fact that the German art dealer is happily married to Lena König and has three children. Johann König's wife, Lena, is an art historian who started buying art as a student. Additionally, the couple acts as partners and manage their reputed collection of contemporary art.
Although the exact marriage date of the duo is unknown, it is speculated Johann and Lena might have got married in early 2012.
Johann is adamant about keeping his children's identity hidden and keeps them away from the press. Photo Source: Johann's Instagram.
It was around that time Johann's former girlfriend and business partner, Kirsa Geiser, left after acting as gallery director for a long time. Moreover, in one of his interviews in 2010, Johann mentioned that his former partner, Kirsa, was pregnant with his child. However, there is no mention of the child anywhere else.
Johann is serious about keeping his children's identities private, as evident by his Instagram posts. The gallerist rarely posts pictures of his children, and even when he does, he makes sure that their faces are covered or not facing the camera. As a result, there's a lot of haze surrounding Johann König's children and past relationships.
Even though the art dealer's personal life is shrouded in mystery, he has been very open about his professional achievements. But let's hope that in the coming days, we will get to learn more about Johann's family.
Trivia And Fun Facts
- Johann König is an avid Instagram user, having around 90K followers.
- He shares his name with two other famous personalities: a German comedian and a German painter from the 1500s.
- While growing up, his nickname was St. Pauli.
