CONTEMPORARY GERMAN MASTERWORKS FROM THE DEUTSCHE BANK COLLECTION GO ON SHOW IN DOHA
A HIGHLIGHT OF QATAR GERMANY 2017 YEAR OF CULTURE
In a unique collaboration between Qatar Museums (QM) and the Deutsche Bank Collection, as a highlight of Qatar Germany Year of Culture 2017, more than 100 works by 27 of Germany’s most significant contemporary artists from the Deutsche Bank Collection will go on show in Doha this week. None of the works in the exhibition have been shown in the region before.
The exhibition, “German Encounters: Contemporary Masterworks from the Deutsche Bank Collection”, opens to the public on 3 October 2017 at QM’s Garage Gallery at the Doha Fire Station and will run through 20 January 2018.
The exhibition is a key moment in the Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture – a mutual exchange of arts, culture, science and sport between Qatar and Germany organised by QM in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, the German Embassy Doha and the Embassy of Qatar in Germany. The annual initiative, launched in 2012 under the guidance of QM Chairperson, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is made up of a wide variety of exhibitions and events in addition to literary and art workshops, film screenings, concerts and performances, sports competitions and trade shows. Qatar Airways, Occidental Petroleum and the St. Regis Hotel are the official Year of Culture corporate sponsors.
“German Encounters” represents not only the history of German contemporary art from the 1960s to the present day, it also delves into the history of the Deutsche Bank Collection, which, since its founding in the late 1970s, has become established as one of the world’s greatest private collections of German contemporary art.
In Doha, the exhibition aims to inspire local collectors and companies to present their works in public and to discover more about contemporary art.
HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said:
“This exhibition represents one of the most significant displays of contemporary German art to have been presented in the region. The chance to see such a significant group of works from the Deutsche Bank Collection in Doha is a special opportunity for audiences in Qatar and the Middle East. And for the talented young artists that are based at the Fire Station it provides a unique source of inspiration, cultural exchange and dialogue. It is a further demonstration of our progress in building a broad and dynamic cultural offering and enriching the lives of those who live in and visit our country.”
Friedhelm Hütte, Lead Curator of German Encounters and Global Senior Art Advisor, Deutsche Bank, Art, Culture & Sports, said:
“German Encounters tells the story of the Deutsche Bank Collection, which had the goal of not only creating a representative picture of postwar German art, but also promoting emerging artists. German Encounters also demonstrates the ability of art to connect people. Sharing contemporary art is the most important value of the Deutsche Bank Collection.”
Dr. Gabriele Landwehr, Director of the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, said:
“With the selection of representative works of the most significant contemporary German artists, the exhibition presents the visitors a walk through German art history. They can experience the manifold skills and techniques of the artists to express themselves and elaborate on themes and emotions. With live speakers present in the exhibition to guide and inform the public and with workshops and activities for a young audience, the German Encounters show will also serve as a lesson on what art can do and mean, and how it relates to its time and role in the international art movements.”
Displayed in five sections, highlighting different aspects of the development of German contemporary art, the artists featured in the exhibition are: Josef Albers, Georg Baselitz, Thomas Bayrle, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Joseph Beuys, Marc Brandenburg, Günther Förg, Isa Genzken, Katharina Grosse, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Jörg Immendorff, Annette Kelm, Martin Kippenberger, Imi Knoebel, Markus Lüpertz, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Sigmar Polke, Neo Rauch, Gerhard Richter, Daniel Richter, Thomas Ruff, Karin Sander, Andreas Slominski, Anton Stankowski, Thomas Struth, Rosemarie Trockel and Günther Uecker.
Among the highlights of “German Encounters” are Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter’s Capitalist Realism paintings responding to American Pop Art, as well as the paintings of Neo Rauch, a main representative of New Leipzig School which renewed German figurative painting in the 1990s. The crystal-clear large-format pictures of Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, and Thomas Ruff contributed to the great success of German photography in international museums, while Katharina Grosse and Annette Kelm embody the pioneering spirit of the art metropolis of Berlin.
As the main goal of Deutsche Bank’s art initiatives is to create access to art and promote creativity, the exhibition will be accompanied by a series of educational events developed jointly with the Goethe-Insitut. The education programme will give local audiences insights into the history of German contemporary art, as well as wider topics including the subject of corporate collecting.
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