More than 100 masterpieces by 27 of Germany’s most significant contemporary artists from the Deutsche Bank Collection will be unveiled for the first time in the region Tuesday at Qatar Museums’ (QM) Garage Gallery at the Doha Fire Station.

A highlight of the Qatar Germany Year of Culture 2017, the “German Encounters: Contemporary Masterworks from the Deutsche Bank Collection” exhibition aims to inspire local collectors and companies to showcase their works in public and explore more about contemporary art. It will run until January 20, 2018.
In a statement, QM chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said “German Encounters” gives residents and visitors in the Middle East an opportunity to see “such a significant group of works from the Deutsche Bank Collection.”
“And for the talented young artists that are based at the Fire Station, it provides a unique source of inspiration, cultural exchange and dialogue,” HE Sheikha Al Mayassa stressed. “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.”
“German Encounters” tells not only the history of German contemporary art from the 1960s to the present day but also tackles the history of the Deutsche Bank Collection. It has become one of the world’s greatest private collections of German contemporary art since its founding in the late 1970s.



Berlin photographic artist Annette Kelm’s ‘Caps’ in 2008.

Some of these collections include Berlin photographic artist Annette Kelm’s ‘Caps’ in 2008, featuring 20 photos of nearly identical baseball caps, woven out of straw that she discovered in New York’s Chinatown; Josef Albers’ painting titled ‘Homage to the Square in 1970 (screenprint on paper), which was the result of a systematic investigation of line, space, surface, and colour; and Georg Baselitz’s large oil painting of an eagle in 1977, which has been a symbol of power closely connected with German history; among other artworks.
Some of the highlights also include 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.
Works of artists Thomas Bayrle, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Joseph Beuys, Marc Brandenburg, Günther Förg, Isa Genzken, Katharina Grosse, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Jörg Immendorff, Martin Kippenberger, Imi Knoebel, Markus Lüpertz, Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Daniel Richter, Thomas Ruff, Karin Sander, Andreas Slominski, Anton Stankowski, Thomas Struth, Rosemarie Trockel and Günther Uecker are also featured at the exhibition.
According to QM, the show is a key moment in the Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture – a mutual exchange of arts, culture, science and sport between the two countries organised by QM in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, the German Embassy in Doha and the Embassy of Qatar in Germany.
“German Encounters demonstrates the ability of art to connect people. Sharing contemporary art is the most important value of the Deutsche Bank Collection,” said Friedhelm Hütte, lead curator of German Encounters and global senior art advisor, Deutsche Bank, Art, Culture and Sports.
Meanwhile, Goethe-Institut Gulf Region director Dr Gabriele Landwehr noted that 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,” Dr Landwehr added.
The exhibition will also see a series of educational activities taking place, which aims to give the audience some insights about the history of German contemporary art, as well as wider topics on corporate collecting.

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