Deutsche Bank Collection at the Städel Museum: First
Choice
Deutsche
Bank Collection at the Städel Museum, Photo: Claus Setzer
Masterpiece
upon masterpiece: paintings by classics of contemporary German painting
like Georg
Baselitz, Sigmar
Polke, and Gerhard Richter;
prints by Blinky
Palermo; Rosemarie
Trockel’s knitted picture Who will be in in ’99
(1988), which is hung across the corner as an homage to Kasimir
Malevich’s iconic Black
Square (1915). The first presentation of the Deutsche
Bank Collection in the Städel
Museum follows the principle of a Petersburg hanging, in which
pictures are hung closely together according to a pre-established system.
The show First Choice presents a panorama of German post-war art in
which important positions in painting and printmaking mutually reinforce
and illuminate one another.
Deutsche
Bank Collection at the Städel Museum, Photo: Claus Setzer
The
selection offers a taste of the approximately 600 works from the Deutsche
Bank Collection’ that will be given over to the Frankfurt museum when its
annex is opened in the end of 2010/early 2011. The large group of works
constitutes a custom-tailored addition to the Städel Collection’s holdings
of art after 1945. Only a small portion of the 60 paintings and
sculptures, 161 originals on paper, and 379 prints going to the renowned
museum on permanent loan from Deutsche Bank can be shown.
The
cooperation with the Städel Museum is another milestone in the history of
the Deutsche Bank Collection. Founded in the late 1970s and comprised of
over 53,000 works, it is widely considered to be one of the most important
corporate collections in the world. Beginning with the concept of "Art at
the Workplace," new paths in the mediation of art were forged early on.
Gerhard
Richter, Kahnfahrt, 1965, © Gerhard Richter, 2008,
Deutsche
Bank Collection
|
Konrad Lueg, Fußballspieler, 1963, © VG
Bild – Kunst, Bonn 2008,
Deutsche
Bank Collection
Contemporary art was
understood as cultural capital that could benefit staff, clients, and the
public. The idea of showing contemporary works in bank buildings worldwide
is based on the idea of bringing art directly to the people. Here, the
main idea of Deutsche Bank’s art program "Art Works" is to be understood
in a dual sense. The emphasis on work of art itself, but also on art as a
catalyst for innovation, as a provider of impulses for discussion, and as
an incentive to question customary patterns of thought. While the focus
early on was on works from the German-speaking countries, the collection
has become increasingly global since the 1990s. Today, in keeping with the
principle "Fostering Creativity," it concentrates more on supporting young
international artists. In addition, the bank continuously seeks to open up
its collection through educational projects and collaborations with
important museums.
Hanne
Darboven, from the series
"Hommage
an meinen Vater", 1989,
Deutsche
Bank Collection
The selection
primarily features classics from the first decades of the collection: Jörg
Immendorff, Martin
Kippenberger, and Markus
Lüpertz are represented with key works; in addition, works by Joseph
Beuys, Konrad Klapheck,
and Dieter
Roth are shown. In particular, the Städel’s collection of works by Anselm
Kiefer will be magnificently augmented by Wege der Weltweisheit:
Hermanns-Schlacht. Extensive groups of works by Hanne
Darboven, Günther
Förg, and Imi
Knoebel will also benefit the museum’s prints collection. All of the
loans were put together with the aim of further continuing the Städel’s
collection into the future while making museum-quality works from the
first decades of the bank’s collection accessible to the public.
First
Choice
Deutsche Bank Collection at the Städel Museum
October
2 - November 9, 2008
Städel Museum
Frankfurt
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