New acquisitions for Rotterdam City Collection

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Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has been able to expand its Rotterdam City Collection with the work of three internationally famous Rotterdam artists: Han Hoogerbrugge, Anne Wenzel and Lara Almarcegui.

These valuable additions were made possible thanks to the generous support of the Fonds Willem van Rede. All three artists are currently represented in the anniversary exhibition ‘25 years City Collection’ with works that are all on loan to the museum. This exhibition is being held until 1 September.

In the exhibition ‘The City, the Artists and the Museum. 25 years Rotterdam City Collection’, one acquisition has been included from each year of the collection’s existence. In addition, the museum is exhibiting a number of loaned works by artists whose work is not yet included in the City Collection. Curator Saskia van Kampen-Prein: “There is an enormous amount of artistic talent in Rotterdam and over the past 25 years the museum has acquired more than 800 works and objects from them. There are, however, various important artists and designers whose work is not yet in the possession of the museum. We are therefore extremely pleased that, thanks to the support of the Fonds Willem van Rede, we have recently acquired works by three of these artists. This acquisition represents an important step in maintaining a valuable City Collection.”

Hoogerbrugge, Wenzel and Almarcegui
Han Hoogerbrugge, pioneer is the field of internet art, has exhibited in various museums, including the Design Museum in London, the Documenta in Kassel and in 2012 held a solo exhibition in TENT Rotterdam: ‘La Grande Fête des Voyeurs’. The five-part animation of the same name is now part of the City Collection. Anne Wenzel has also exhibited internationally and in 2010 had a solo exhibition in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen: ‘Requiem for Heroism’. The City Collection now includes her first large sculpture in black ceramics: ‘z.t. (zwarte meisje [black girl]) (2003). The piece is now considered a key item in her oeuvre. The work of Lara Almarcegui is also included in important international collections and this year can be seen in the Spanish pavilion at the Biennial of Venice. The museum has now acquired her well-known photo series ‘Ruins in the Netherlands’ (2008) for the City Collection.

Private support
On 1 December 1987, the first City Collection curator was appointed making use of resources that were released after the discontinuation of the Dutch Visual Arts Regulation. In the past 25 years, the City Collection budget has, however, shrunk considerably. A significant number of art works and objects in the City Collection were acquired thanks to the help of various private foundations, funds, companies and institutions. The Fonds Willem van Rede has been an inspirational engine for the museum collection for more than half a century. The Fonds has, in those years, made it possible for the museum to acquire works by artists including Richard Serra, Joseph Beuys, Marcel Duchamp, Fischli and Weiss and Aernout Mik. The double portrait of Hans Mardersteig and Carl Georg Heise by Oskar Kokoschka - the star item this year in the major exhibition ‘Oskar Kokoschka - Portraits of People and Animals’ - was acquired with money from the Fonds Willem van Rede; a gift in 1950. As the government withdraws its support for the arts, private contributions are taking on an ever-increasing importance.

Exhibition
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Rotterdam City Collection, the museum is exhibiting works by Rotterdam artists and designers who are famous both nationally and internationally. These include Atelier Van Lieshout, Daan van Golden, Hella Jongerius and Richard Hutten. To accompany this exhibition, the museum published the book ‘The City, the Artists and the Museum: 25 Years Rotterdam City Collection’. Price €39.50 (Dutch language only).

With thanks to
The exhibition ‘The City, the Artists and the Museum’ has been made possible partly thanks to support from the Stichting Bevordering van Volkskracht [Foundation for the Promotion of People Power].

https://www.boijmans.nl