BERLIN, GERMANY.-With the exhibition “25”, which will be on show until June 19, 2005 at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, the Deutsche Bank is celebrating the twenty-fifth birthday of its corporate collection. Twenty-five international personalities from art and business, all with close ties to the collection, have selected a panorama of more than 300 works by approximately 140 artists, ranging from classical modernism to current positions in contemporary art. The show is complemented by the “Curator’s Choice”. On display are outstanding artworks from the largest Corporate Collection in the world, in the spectacular exhibition architecture of the internationally renowned architect Zaha Hadid.

Accompanying staff members in their daily work, the art in the Deutsche Bank leaves almost no one feeling indifferent to its effect. It has been displayed in bank buildings throughout the world since the end of 1979 under the motto “Art in the Workplace,” and it offers stimulation and challenge to many viewers in those locations. Comprising 50.000 works, today the Deutsche Bank Collection is the biggest corporate collection in the world, which, as part of a pioneering concept, established an alternative currency in the bank.
This pioneering achievement of presenting contemporary art in bank buildings all around the world reflects the innovative spirit of the cultural commitment of the bank, and it became a model for many other corporations around the globe. In this regard Dr. Tessen von Heydebreck, Member of the Board of Managing Directors, comments: “The initiative ‘Art at Work’ has proven its worth. Our focus is on quality, on conscious contact with art, on the utilisation of and public access to this collection. The path we have taken is certainly unique.”

In contrast to visiting a museum, the immediate encounter with art in the bank is a direct, everyday experience – an ongoing dialogue. The unique appearance of the collection has been marked above all by the personal involvement of all participants, by their love of art, by the courage to pursue exceptional paths, and by the search for new ideas and perspectives.

For this reason the twenty-fifth anniversary of the collection is being celebrated with an extraordinary birthday exhibition, whose title motif “Birthday Party” by Yutaka Sone brings together all the diverse aspects of a successful birthday celebration: “A birthday tells the history of each of our lives, and it's the proof that we have a life in this world. Every Birthday Party is a chance for us to remember that all of us live with and among others. Any cities, any places, are built on the personal histories of the people living there,“ says the young Japanese artist, who at an exhibition in Germany first became familiar with the tradition of the birthday party, which is unknown in his home country.
Thus for “25,” twenty-five friends and associates, all of whom have contributed in various ways to the artistic and cultural activities of the bank, were asked to select their favorite artworks. These outstanding godfathers include not only museum directors, international curators, gallery owners and longterm advisors, but also members of the Board of Managing Directors of the bank.

This “external” perspective on the collection is complemented by the section “Curator’s Choice,” by means of which Dr. Ariane Grigoteit, curator of the exhibition and director of Deutsche Bank Art, conveys the “internal” view of the art in the bank and, through current acquisitions, gives a forwardlooking impression of the Deutsche Bank Collection. Concerning “Curator’s Choice,” Dr. Ariane Grigoteit remarks: “This section presents artworks in the specific context of the bank, works which could only be created here or which reflect the special environment of the corporation. Here are also to be found the figurative ‘milestones’ – works which have marked the collection in diverse ways, just as the variety of the international, culturally widespread art-program. Here questions are raised such as ‘Where does the course lead?’ and ‘What does globalisation mean for the individual and for society?’ Finally, the most recent purchases for the collection open up a view onto the future art-program of the bank.”

Numbering among the highlights of the exhibition, alongside works of German Expressionism such as Wassily Kandinsky’s Aquarell mit rotem Fleck (Watercolor with Red Spot, 1911), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Bahnhof Königstein (Königstein Train Station, 1917) and Emil Nolde’s Phantasie (Fantasy, 1931), are also works by outstanding representatives of post-war art such as Joseph Beuys, Georg Baselitz, Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter.
At the same time, the exhibition focuses on international contemporary art, which for many years has helped form the collection’s global character. Besides “milestones” of art, works which today stand as icons of the collection, the most recent purchases of the bank will also be displayed, such as works by Julie Mehretu, Emel Geris, Tam Ochiai or William Kentridge.

For the first time, the exhibition space of the Deutsche Guggenheim will be extended for this event and connected with the premises of the Deutsche Bank on the boulevard Unter den Linden through the spectacular exhibition architecture of Zaha Hadid. The star architect from London is the first woman to have won the renowned Pritzker Architecture Prize. Numbering among her most recent designs are the installation Ice Storm for the MAK in Vienna, the Rosenthal Center of Contemporary Art, Ohio, and the Phaeno-Science Center in Wolfsburg.

The exhibition architecture specially designed by her for this event describes the unique settings of “Art in the Workplace.” It will be possible to experience directly, in various spatial contexts, the personal profile of the collection and the interaction between people and art in the bank.

Issued upon the occasion of the 25th birthday of the Deutsche Bank Collection is the catalogue “25” in German and English versions. In addition, the series of editions produced exclusively for the Deutsche Guggenheim will be continued with the object “Solid” by Zaha Hadid as Special Edition No. 31, in a production run of 250.