Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

From: Erich Reich

Date: July 10, 2026 13:55

When, last year, many art colleges and academies were forced to cancel or move their graduation shows and annual exhibitions online due to the pandemic, art students in Germany were deeply concerned: how would they gain access to an art market that relies, not least, on the discoveries made at such events and the trust built up there? Erich Reich’s idea for a ‘student art market’ – in other words, an online platform for art students – filled the gap that had opened up for many young artists at the start of their careers at precisely that moment. With this online marketplace for works from art colleges, he has created an opportunity for students to offer their works online without having to pay high commission fees. Since then, the business model has helped quite a few young artists through the crisis.

Reich, aged 27, who was born in Bremen and is currently studying business administration in Leipzig, comes from a family of artists himself. His grandmother was a stained-glass artist, his father is a stone sculptor, and his grandfather ran a gallery in the art market in Switzerland. It was his brother, who is studying fine art, who gave him the idea for the student art platform. “My aim was to give everyone the opportunity to showcase their art and sell it online,” says Reich from his small office in Leipzig. Initially, back in 2019, the platform was aimed primarily at students at Saxony’s art colleges. A few months later, the Berlin University of the Arts and the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin were added. Reich travelled to other studios and academies in search of like-minded people. A lot of explaining was needed, especially at the start: he says it was a challenge to get art students excited about the project. Many were sceptical, mainly because, in principle, it would render galleries obsolete as intermediaries for art. However, as soon as the first painting was sold, word of the idea spread through the art colleges. The student art market now has 170 artists from Germany in its portfolio, as well as artists from Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

There are more than 1,700 works on the platform, where, on average, one artwork has been sold every day since the first lockdown. It is important to Reich that everyone should have the chance to exhibit their work; the range includes paintings, photography and sculptures: “We want to make it as accessible as possible. We’re not concerned with portfolios or previous experience with galleries.” This is another reason why the platform uses social media. On Instagram alone, Reich and his team have more than 14,000 followers. Every day, they post stories there or on Facebook, showcasing at least one young, unknown artist. “With the student art market, we want to create an advantage over traditional galleries,” says Reich. Whilst galleries often charge higher commissions for brokering sales, particularly for younger and lesser-known artists, his project is characterised by a low commission, which is only payable once a work has actually been sold. The works on offer are all in the mid-price range, up to around 5,000 euros.

Franziska Schell, who is in her third semester at university in Munich, has listed around ten paintings for sale on the platform. These are expressive acrylic landscapes and abstract nude studies. Since the platform launched in 2019, she has been able to sell works on a regular basis. “It’s a good way to raise the profile of your own art, even beyond galleries,” she says. Stella Guzmán Schikora, who was born in Mexico in 1998 and has been studying art at Alanus University near Bonn since 2019, shares this view. Her portraits and landscapes cost between 300 and 600 euros. She, too, values the platform’s network: “The student art market helps me connect with buyers and other artists, and is also a source of inspiration.”

As far as the buyer base is concerned, Reich sees a mixed picture; young art collectors looking to acquire unusual and as yet unknown works are the main target group. However, traditional collectors have also taken notice of the platform. In any case, his credo is to offer high-quality art. Nevertheless, he does not believe that the Student Art Market, despite its success during the pandemic, can replace the in-person tours at art colleges; contemporary art is, after all, based on trust and real-life contact. That is why Reich wants to further expand the Student Art Market’s offering and, particularly in his home city of Leipzig, also collaborate with galleries: This has worked well so far; around ten of the artists featured were signed by galleries in 2020.

Reich is currently organising the Student Art Market’s first live exhibition at the Pittlerwerke in Leipzig. He plans to showcase around twenty artists there from 16 to 19 September. He says this is another step towards enabling young art students to present their work to a wide audience with minimal effort. But Erich Reich’s dream is bigger: he wants to establish a social network of young artists that connects them with galleries, scholarship providers and artist residencies, thereby paving the way for them into the German art market. (https://studenten-kunstmarkt.de/)

KEVIN HANSCHKE