Independent Collectors

me Collectors Room – Private Exposure

For the fifth time, the Olbricht Foundation has invited London Metropolitan University students from the ‘Curating the Contemporary’ Master’s program in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery, to curate and develop an exhibition with works from the extensive art collection of Thomas Olbricht.

This year Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick, and Alice Montanini curated “Private Exposure” at the me Collectors Room Berlin, in an exhibition that addresses surveillance in the modern day, as well as investigating the tracking and exposure in we see in our society today.

Here, all three talk to IC about the thought processes and logistics involved in curating the show.

IC

Had you seen the Olbricht collection previously before curating this show?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

For the fifth time, the Olbricht Foundation has invited London Metropolitan University students from the ‘Curating the Contemporary’ Master’s program in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery, to curate and develop an exhibition with works from the extensive art collection of Thomas Olbricht.

This year Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick, and Alice Montanini curated “Private Exposure“, an exhibition that addresses surveillance in the modern day, as well as investigating the tracking and exposure in we see in our society today. Here, all three talk to IC about the thought processes and logistics involved in curating the show.

IC

Had you seen the Olbricht collection previously before curating this show?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

We had had a glimpse of the collection through the exhibitions of previous Curating the Contemporary students but had never visited the space or seen any of the collection works in the flesh prior to the project.

IC

What was the selection process for the artworks?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

The selection of the works was quite an organic process in response to the me Collectors Room building. Inspired by the multiple sight-lines that the space offers the viewer, we had the specific intention to reflect and emphasise this aspect through the exhibition display. From our interest in the space developed the theme exploring the mutual act of watching and being watched. Therefore, we specifically looked for artworks that could connect across the levels of the gallery and out onto the street consciously including different genres of work.

IC

So You designed “Private Exposure” to be a site aware exhibition in response to the me Collectors Room building. In what ways was this a challenge for you as curators?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

From the outset, we decided to embrace the gallery rather than trying to make the unusual space conform to our choices. This made the initial process of selection and positioning of some key works much smoother and easier. It did narrow our selection of works for technical reasons and in some instances, we compromised. In the case of the video piece “Sustaining the Crisis” by Taylor-Johnson the way we need to present the work is not typical but we were lucky enough that the artist approved our solution. We have accepted the unpredictability of the space as something that perfectly fit the concept and the lack of control caused by the exposure to the public gaze.

IC

As there are three of you curating the show, how did you go about juggling all of your ideas?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

Working as a group is challenging but in this instance having our different backgrounds in philosophy, art history and artistic practice was an asset. We all agreed how important the space was from the beginning and with this unifying us all the further decisions were made through discussions and compromise, beyond individual taste and opinion. Although this exhibition isn’t what each of us would have composed individually, we believe that to be the strength of it as each element has been considered through different points of view that bring a unified perspective overall.

SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON, Sustaining the Crisis, 1997. Courtesy White Cube, © the artist and VG Bild Kunst Bonn 2016
SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON, Sustaining the Crisis, 1997. Courtesy White Cube, © the artist and VG Bild Kunst Bonn 2016
SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON, Sustaining the Crisis, 1997. Courtesy White Cube, © the artist and VG Bild Kunst Bonn 2016
SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON, Sustaining the Crisis, 1997. Courtesy White Cube, © the artist and VG Bild Kunst Bonn 2016

IC

Was there something in particular you were looking for when making the selection?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

As a group, we all came to the collection with different perspectives and experiences so there was not one position adopted while selecting works. The process was democratic with discussions reasoning selection beyond individual taste. Ultimately we looked for a selection best able to convey the complexity and different aspects of the theme – sometimes more subtly, other times in a very direct and literal way.

IC

Where did the concept of the exhibition stem from? Was it something that the three of you had been working on within your studies?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

The concept was an immediate reaction to the space as well as taking inspiration from the bold works we discovered in the collection. Beyond this reaction, we all have studied different aspects relating to the theme that we brought knowledge of to this project. The importance of sight is, of course, something much discussed in art history and explored through artistic practice. It is certainly not a subject reserved for the art world as over time and due to new technologies our act of watching have altered. The everyday is being examined with Private Exposure as we involve the visitors, the artworks and their entire engagement with the space.

JOHANNES KAHRS, Untitled, 2005. © VG Bildkunst Bonn 2016
JOHANNES KAHRS, Untitled, 2005. © VG Bildkunst Bonn 2016
ANDRÉ GELPKE, Christine im Spiegel, 1977. Courtesy Kicken Berlin, © the artist
ANDRÉ GELPKE, Christine im Spiegel, 1977. Courtesy Kicken Berlin, © the artist
ALICJA KWADE, Ein Hocker ist ein Bild, 2015. Courtesy the artist and KÖNIG GALERIE, Photo: Roman März
ALICJA KWADE, Ein Hocker ist ein Bild, 2015. Courtesy the artist and KÖNIG GALERIE, Photo: Roman März

IC

“Private Exposure” looks at surveillance in society today, a topic that has been addressed numerous times in art, but how did you go about looking at it in a new and fresh way?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

Exploring any subject through a collection has restrictions so we avoided broaching a topic like surveillance directly but did so incidentally through the space in which the exhibition is housed. Addressing surveillance is an acknowledgement of the wider context in which Private Exposure sits, where we are not only watched by CCTV in public but willingly share our private moments to a global audience via the Internet. Looking at the acts of watching and being watched we are examining many aspects through the works on display with a focus on the gallery space, consciously not compromising the integrity of any works by forcing a theme on them. Our aim is ultimately to present a new approach to the Olbricht Collection, by contextualising and connecting its works with one of today’s most relevant issues.

IC

What is it about looking at others that we, the viewer, find so interesting?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

Observing is primal behaviour that we all instinctively do. The act of looking at others is also a way to consider ourselves and to position ourselves within society. The act of looking is particularly amplified within a White Cube gallery where nothing detracts our attention from the works of art, but what happens in an open space like the me Collectors Room where the viewer’s’ gaze is free to wander, reaching even beyond the gallery’s walls? We believe that this unconventional space is particularly suitable to host a discourse on the mutual act of looking at others while being looked at in turn – an activity that engages us on daily bases, consciously or unconsciously.

JIAN ZHANG, Square No.3, 2005. Courtesy Galerie Frank Schlag Cie Essen
JIAN ZHANG, Square No.3, 2005. Courtesy Galerie Frank Schlag Cie Essen
JEREMY BLAKE, Winchester, 2002. © The Jeremy Aaron Blake Estate
JEREMY BLAKE, Winchester, 2002. © The Jeremy Aaron Blake Estate

IC

The artists in the show are already quite established – was this something you wanted to focus on from the collection?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

Not at all. We focused solely on the works in the collection and on the importance and relevance of an artist’s practice to our theme.

IC

Does a collection like this inspire you to start collecting yourself?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

Collecting art is a very pleasurable activity, investment and passion, a luxury. Working with this collection has definitely been an inspiring, experience which will influence the development of our curatorial research and practice.

IC

We believe that the face of collecting is changing, with more young art enthusiasts acquiring art than ever before. Have you also seen this change and how do you think it will affect the art scene in the future?

Fabiola Flamini, Eilidh McCormick & Alice Montanini

The more collectors collecting work, particularly that of emerging artists will encourage and enable the production of more art which is never going to be a bad thing. In the last decade, international art fairs have tripled in numbers, showing an increased popular interest in contemporary art and its market. Private Collections play a pivotal role in the preservation of art enabling exhibitions wider than the sole collection through loans to galleries that don’t have the means to have a collection of their own. Whoever is collecting and the inspiration behind the purchase of works it’s an exciting time in the art world and this will continue into the future.

GERHARD RICHTER, Roter Kopf, 1965. © the artist
GERHARD RICHTER, Roter Kopf, 1965. © the artist
JOHN ISAACS, Untitled (What makes certain), 1995. © the artist
JOHN ISAACS, Untitled (What makes certain), 1995. © the artist
JOHN DE ANDREA, Sitting Woman, 1972. © the artist
JOHN DE ANDREA, Sitting Woman, 1972. © the artist
TONY OURSLER, Trance, 1996. Courtesy the artist
TONY OURSLER, Trance, 1996. Courtesy the artist
DON BROWN, Xoko xxiii, 2010. Courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London. © the artist
DON BROWN, Xoko xxiii, 2010. Courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London. © the artist
BARRY X BALL, (Laura Mattioli Rossi), 2000-2005. © the artist
BARRY X BALL, (Laura Mattioli Rossi), 2000-2005. © the artist
LEIGH LEDARE, Mom Spread with Red Heels, 2003. Courtesy the artist and Office Baroque Brussels
LEIGH LEDARE, Mom Spread with Red Heels, 2003. Courtesy the artist and Office Baroque Brussels
ZBIGNIEW ROGALSKI, Closer (Selfportrait), 2006. Courtesy the artist
ZBIGNIEW ROGALSKI, Closer (Selfportrait), 2006. Courtesy the artist

The me Collectors Room is included in the Art Guide.

Germany (114)

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Julia Stoschek

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Wurlitzer Berlin-Pied-à-Terre Collection

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KUNSTSAELE Berlin

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The Feuerle Collection

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Ingrid & Thomas Jochheim

The collector couple describes the discovery process, which has led them to around 700 artworks to date, as emotional

ARNDT Collection

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BRAUNSFELDER Family Collection – Gute Nacht

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Collection Night

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Warhol and Works on Paper

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Art is a Window – Christian Kaspar Schwarm

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Young Desire and Cuperior

A young collector pushing young artists to be seen and heard.

Kunstwerk – Sammlung Klein

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The Peters-Messer Collection at the Weserburg

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Friedrich & Johanna Gräfling

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ALLES NOTWENDIGE (Everthing Necessary)

We newly introduce Braunsfelder – the private initiative of a Cologne family, who in their current exhibition (which can be visited) present the urgency for art, especially in difficult times.

Dirk Lehr Collection

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The Art of Recollecting

A selection of artworks from the Hildebrand Collection that explore individual and collective memories.

Max & Corina Krawinkel

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Generation Loss

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Yvonne Roeb

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The Vague Space

The continuously contouring art collection from Independent Collectors’ co-founder.

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Why Am I Actually German?

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Geometric Abstraction

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Dreamaholic

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me Collectors Room – Picha/Pictures

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Deichtorhallen Hamburg

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Gill Bronner

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Goetz Collection

An internationally significant collection of contemporary art located in Munich.

The Order Of Things

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How to Be Unique

An exploration of the interlacing of textual, structural, and lingual elements and painting with a special emphasis on their material manifestations.

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In their second IC Online Exhibition, Leipzig’s G2 Kunsthalle celebrates its second anniversary of the foundation with a selection of new acquisitions from the Hildebrand Collection.

Lines of Quiet Beauty

Located in a former residential and commercial property from the 1960‘s, the Swiss architect Hans Rohr transformed into a home for contemporary art with over 2 700 square metres of exhibition space.

Kuhn Collection

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Archivio Conz x KW

Archivio Conz presents “Pause: Broken Sounds/Remote Music. Prepared pianos from the Archivio Conz collection” at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin.

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Kuhn Collection I

This exhibition is the first in a series in which Michael Kuhn and Alexandra Rockelmann share works from the Kuhn Collection on IC.

Recording Memories

Mimi Kolaneci shares parts of his collection

Haus N Collection & Wemhöner Collection

ach, die sind ja heute so unpolitisch

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RealitätsCheck (Reality Check)

“Reality Check” presents works from the the ‘Art’Us Collectors’ Collective’, a combined effort of four private collections in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Munich and Stuttgart.

Primary Gestures

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Dominic & Cordula Sohst-Brennenstuhl

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Oliver Osborne: Der Kleine Angsthase

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STUDIO BERLIN – Boros Foundation x Berghain

We are here with insight into the seductive new Berlin happening, STUDIO BERLIN, with an interview with Karen Boros and Juliet Kothe, Artistic Directors of the project.

Philara Collection 2016

Gil Bronner’s Stiftung Philara is on the move.

Jan Peter Kern

Death is Beautiful

me Collectors Room Berlin/Stiftung Olbricht

My Abstract World

Haupt Collection

Dreissig Silberlinge

Wemhöner Collection

»The art I encounter and surround myself with improves my quality of life. It gives me strength and inspires me,«

Désiré Feuerle

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Lapo Simeoni

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Timo Miettinen

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IC Director Nina Raftopoulo helps new collectors develop confidence.

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Creative workshops for brands who want to become great story-tellers.

Kai Bender

Collectors who have a special bond with Berlin.

Olaf Schirm

Collectors who have a special bond with Berlin.

Nils Grossien

100 Years of DADA with the last living DADAIST of Germany: PRINZ

Manfred Herrmann

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Harald Falckenberg

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The Mechanics of Minimalism

Sometimes someone’s own profession and artistic interests go hand in hand. At least thematically.

Safn

From a very early age, Pétur Arason enjoyed visiting artists in their studios with his father. Today, Arason has built up his own collection spanning more than 1 200 works.

Wilhelm Schürmann

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Aus Ihrer Mitte Entspringt Die Kraft

The Reinking Collection is a place where man and art come together in order to evolve as one.

Behind Your Eyes

Tobias Gombert is an art collector who just loves to learn.

Kunststiftung Meier-Linnert

German collector, Gerd Meier-Linnert, is someone who sees the beauty in simple shapes.

The Secret Garden

Originally founded in 2001 and opened up to the public five years later, the Gerisch Collection hosts an extensive collection in the surroundings of its very own sculpture park, where art can be found down winding paths, in hidden corners and on ponds among blossoming water lilies.

Ingvild Goetz

Margarita Zieda talks to Ingvild Goetz about the talent involved in differentiating a good piece of work from a lucky one hit wonder.

Cindy Sherman – Works from the Olbricht Collection

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Gute Kunst? Wollen!

Born into a family of textile merchants that spans over four generations and a long tradition of passionate art collecting Thomas Rusche’s passion for collecting art started early, with his first purchase at the age of 14. Over the years that followed, his passion for collecting has grown into a vast accumulation of 17th century Old Masters, contemporary painting, and sculptures.

Part Two

What happens when the private interacts with the public, and when personal decisions become a public matter?

Frisch Collection

The Berlin based couple, Harald and Kornelia Frisch, have been collecting idiosyncratic painterly and sculptural positions from different artistic generations free from market-based aesthetics since the 1960s.

Haus N – Part One

What happens when the private communicates with the public and when personal decisions become a public matter?

Le Souffleur

Wilhelm Schürmann presents his collection with works from the Ludwig Collection in “Le Souffleur.”

Slavs and Tatars: Friendship of Nations

An exhibition from the Berlin-based collector Christian Kaspar Schwarm, featuring work from the art collective, Slavs and Tatars.

Queensize

Female Artists from the Olbricht Collection at me Collectors Room, Berlin.

Barbara Klemm: Photographs

A new exhibition from the Berlin collector Werner Driller.

Karsten Schmitz

Art collector, art philanthropist, social entrepreneur and the developer of one of Germany’s largest contemporary art spaces, the internationally renowned Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, Karsten Schmitz shares his vision of how artistic, architectural, as well as the social metamorphosis of art spaces can transform the lives of artists, the public, even entire cities.

I Have Nothing Against Women But…

A look inside the exhibition “I Have Nothing Against Women but Can’t You Ring at Another Person’s Door”

Collection Regard

En Passant

To the patrons of tomorrow

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The Rediscovery of Wonder

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Mario von Kelterborn – Weserburg

As part of the "Young Collections" series at the Weserburg, Mario von Kelterborn presented works from Collection von Kelterborn in the exhibition "Young Collections 02".

Matthias Arndt

„In the beginning and in the end, you have to love your artworks for their inherent value, the beauty but also the artistic vision they represent“

MUSEUM INSEL HOMBROICH

A unique cultural space of international significance

A Change of Scenery

Artists' wallpapers from the Sammlung Goetz

Issa Masé

Emerging Collectors - The Ori House