BERNE.- For the first time in the history of its existence, the Zentrum Paul Klee presents a private collection of works by Paul Klee. The important works in question number twenty seven, which the Japanese collector Kazumasa Katsuta has acquired and built up from a diverse range of locations around the world over the past three decades. The starting point for the exhibition entitled "A Collector’s Eye on Paul Klee" is accordingly one based entirely on subjective preferences and the subjective quality consciousness of a single collector who is not bound by any public remit. The Zentrum Paul Klee has complemented the 27 works with other works from its extensive holdings that are related either formally, in respect of content or the techniques used, and, by embedding works in this way, has created a virtual museum within a museum for the duration of this exhibition. By adopting this approach, both the quality and the importance of Kazumasa Katsuta's collection is being recognised for its academic and artistic merits, and new perspectives on the holdings of the Zentrum Paul Klee have been opened.

The collection of the Zentrum Paul Klee consists of the holdings of the Paul-Klee Stiftung [Paul Klee Foundation], the Livia Klee Donation, items on loan from the estate, as well as works held by various lenders. In contrast to private collections, an institution that benefits from public support, in all instances, also need to fulfil a public remit. It is the central remit of the Zentrum Paul Klee to make the artistic, pedagogical and theoretical work of Paul Klee plus its cultural and social importance accessible academically, and to convey this vividly to broad groups of the population.