"Deutsche Bank KunstHalle", Unter den Linden, Berlin. Photo: David Heald
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Imran Qureshi in his studio. Photo: Hassam Rana. © Hassam Rana
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Deutsche Guggenheim - 15 Years of Passion - A Unique Cooperation
After it was founded in 1997, the Deutsche Guggenheim
swiftly developed into an important platform for innovative art
exhibitions. The tremendous success of the exhibition hall on Unter den
Linden, founded jointly by Deutsche Bank and the Guggenheim Foundation,
is reflected not only by the fact that more than two million people
visited the 61 exhibitions shown there. The venue was unique in the
global landscape and in the network of international Guggenheim
museums. It was a relatively small but flexible forum that could be
used to show an enormously wide spectrum of elaborate exhibitions and
commissioned works. Artists could boldly present formats and
experiments that would not have been possible in other museums.
This
platform for extraordinary exhibition projects will continue after the
partnership between Deutsche Bank and the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Foundation comes to an end. Starting in the spring of 2013, “Deutsche
Bank KunstHalle” will pick up on the successful work of the Deutsche
Guggenheim, with an even more global program. Internationalism, an
openness to the out of the ordinary, challenging projects, and
comprehensive mediation offers – the KunstHalle will build on the
strengths that characterized the museum on Unter den Linden from the
very beginning and will surely thrill viewers in the German capital.
With
the exhibition hall, Deutsche Bank is strengthening its presence in
Berlin. In the city and worldwide, the bank cooperates with various
renowned partners, including important institutions, collectors, and
curators. In addition to exhibitions from the Deutsche Bank Collection, the show devoted to the “Artist of the Year” is another focal point of the program. After Wangechi Mutu in 2010, Yto Barrada in 2011, and Roman Ondák in 2012, Deutsche Bank has named Imran Qureshi
the “Artist of the Year” for 2013. The award honors an auspicious
artist who addresses social issues in an individual way. Imran Qureshi
is one of the most interesting protagonists of the Pakistani art scene.
In this enchantingly beautiful miniature paintings and extensive
installations, he addresses issues that move people around the world:
violence and war, conflicts between cultures and religions, and the
hope for freer and more peaceful coexistence.
The Deutsche
Bank Collection is one of the world’s most important corporate art
collections. In the KunstHalle, it will be even more accessible to a
wide public and will be presented from new perspectives. For example,
the Argentinean curator Victoria Noorthoorn, who directed the 11th Lyon Biennale
and recently joined the Deutsche Bank Global Art Advisory Council, is
organizing an exhibition of drawings. In the show, young international
artists will show how vital and varied this medium is.
Another
focus of “Deutsche Bank KunstHalle’s” program are new art landscapes
and the phenomenon of a globalized society. The exhibition hall will
present artistic positions from the new art centers in Asia, Afrcia,
and South America that have not had a forum in Berlin or Europe thus
far. Discoveries are guaranteed – for example, in a show dedicated to
contemporary Indonesian artists.
“Deutsche Bank KunstHalle” is
a declaration of Deutsche Bank’s commitment to Berlin and will play an
active part in German capital’s art scene. A large exhibition project
with the Neue Nationalgalerie
is in the planning stage, and further strategic partnerships are in
preparation. Berlin is one of the world’s most important production
sites for current art, drawing more artists from all over the world
than almost any other city. “Deutsche Bank KunstHalle” will also set an
example in this respect, offering young talents a platform for their
first institutional exhibitions in Berlin.
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