 "Deutche Bank art")
It is not exactly known which painting hangs in the office of John Cryan, the CEO of Deutsche Bank, but a majority of the bank’s board members have an eye for art, and they frequently ask for paintings in their chambers to be changed.
While Cryan’s preference in art remains a secret, nearly 2,000 artworks spread over 60 floors in the twin towers that form the Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt are open to public for viewing.
“We buy artworks from places we do business in,” says Klaus Winker, a spokesperson of the bank. So, in keeping with the bank’s footprint across countries, the art collection at its headquarters in Germany is demarcated into zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas, Middle East/Africa, Germany and Europe. Each floor in the twin towers is devoted to one artist.
In the lobby is a silkscreen print by artist Gavin Turk that embodies the bank’s philosophy for art. Here, Turk depicts himself as his subject, Joseph Beuys, the famous German sculptor and performance artist, and in doing so, he challenges the concept of artist, identity and authorship — much like the bank that does not identify itself as only a financial institution.
Dayanita Singh's commissioned work at Deutsche Bank-Towers
Deustche Bank has so far collaborated with close to 5,000 artists, around 60 of whom are from India. Two Indian artists, in fact, have entire floors dedicated to them at Frankfurt: photographer Dayanita Singh and Shilpa Gupta.
At the Dayanita Singh conference hall are pictures of industrial buildings, which accidentally came out with a blue tint as Singh used a wrong film. Later, the blue tint turned out to be so interesting that it became a form of expression for Singh. One of the most famous photographs by Singh here is “Dream Villa 11” that captures the cityscape at night.
The floor dedicated to Gupta, essentially a new media artist, feature her works that explore the notions of location and belonging.
Allan deSouza, Arbor, 2004
Of late, Desutche Bank has also been promoting the works of Sarnath Banerjee, who combines trenchant text and melancholic humour to create a story. Banerjee is currently producing a commissioned work for a new Deustche Bank location in London, literally turning the building into a book, including a chapter in which Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel are shown discussing evolution in a garden setting. For each of the 11 floors of the bank in London, Banerjee has developed a series of illustrated stories that will be installed in the form of wallpaper in the building.
While promoting young artists, the bank has also been revisiting the works of older Indian artists. For example, last year, Deutsche Bank KunstHalle in Berlin exhibited the works of Bhupen Khakhar.
Back in its headquarters in Frankfurt, the bank chooses an “Artist of the Year” from among upcoming artists. The works of this artist are displayed at the entrance of the art gallery. This year features South African artist, Kemang Wa Lehulere, who talks of racism and injustices under apartheid in South Africa through his paintings.
“We have a breathing collection with a potential for a dialogue,” says Franziska Kunz, head of art, culture & sports, Deutsche Bank.
Adel Abdessemed, ne crains rien, 2009
For example, the works of Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed, who wanted to do an exhibition on slaughterhouses in Mexico but was banned as his works were considered too gruesome for public display, are prominently displayed in one of the galleries.
The bank, which sources the works both from artists and galleries, is also increasing its collection of photographs. One of the prominent displays at the headquarters is by Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, who has photographed leftover objects by tourists at a national park. Another radical piece of art is by Allan deSouza at BrandSpace, a gallery with installations. He uses old images of his family from the 1960s, which he found in his father’s slide boxes at the living space of his home in Kenya, to depict layers of life.
Also to be seen at BrandSpace are works by Nikhil Chopra. Living the life of another person for days at San Gimignano, a small medieval hill town in Tuscany in Italy, Chopra has produced images from the act.
Gabriel Orozco, Sandstars, 2012
Next year, the bank will open its new cultural forum, spread over 3,000 square metres in the heart of Berlin, where, for the first time, it will exclusively exhibit from its collection of 55,000 artworks collected over 35 years — this is among the largest corporate art collections in the world. At present, these works are displayed across Desutche Bank offices around the world.
The walk through the art collection at the Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt lasts an hour and is free of cost
