Berlin: a collector import city

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(…) but the most important thing for me was to make the collection accessible for as many international people as possible – Berlin seemed to be the right place to fulfill those efforts. 

Thomas Olbricht
Photo © me Collectors Room Berlin, by Jana Ebert.

The Collection

When did you start collecting art and what were the reasons? Do you still remember the first artwork you purchased and do you still own it?
I started collecting when I was 5 years old; back then I collected toy cars, stamps, and later on butterflies. As a student, my interest in collecting included also Art Nouveau vases. My great-uncle Karl Ströher had an extensive collection of art and my interest was definitely influenced by my early contacts to pieces of his collection. I started collecting works from local artists, then post-45 German Art, and for the last twenty years also international art. In the last ten years, I started to collect more thematically, mostly figurative paintings and objects. But there are also abstract paintings in my collection. I guess I am what you can call a passionate collector.

The mixture of periods and genres in your collection is very unusual. You are collecting contemporary artists as well as five centuries old objects, which are presented as the “Wunderkammer”. What is the intention behind this deeply interesting collecting approach?
Themes like love, life, and death have been a topic for many artists throughout the last 500 years. So you will find pieces of contemporary art in my collection that deal with those themes and one can also see that this topic is nothing new: it is also central to the Wunderkammer objects from the Renaissance and Baroque. So why is it that death, couples, erotic things often play a role in figurative paintings? Obviously, they are of vital significance for many artists, being it in a contemporary or historical context.

The WUNDERKAMMER OLBRICHT Collection at me Collector Room. Photo © Bernd-Borchardt
The Wunderkammer Collection at me Collector Room. Photo © Bernd Borchardt

Are you still acquiring new works for the “Wunderkammer” or do you focus on contemporary art?
I collect in both fields equally. One of the latest objects I acquired for my Wunderkammer in Berlin is the Humboldt Pokal, a coconut chalice that came into the possession of Alexander von Humboldt and which is adorned with images of Brazilian cannibals. There are only four similar objects to be found in public collections, making the chalice extremely rare.

Also, your collection includes many works of Gerhard Richter. You own every edition from 1965 to 2011. The statistics in our survey state that German collectors are not paying as high prices for blue-chip artworks as for example US collectors. How do the enormously increasing prices for Richter influence you as a Richter collector?
I am very happy about the fact that my collection is probably the only private collection in the world to contain virtually all of Gerhard Richter’s editions, spanning a period from 1965 to 2011. I showed it in 2012 in Berlin, in 2013 in Turin and in 2014 at K21 in Düsseldorf. Gerhard Richter appreciates the fact that I am such a passionate collector of his editions so I am in the happy position that he lets me know whenever there are new editions available to complete my collection. The works you can get on the secondary market are out of my budget.

How did the increasing price for German artists in general influence you as a collector?
I buy less – I try to buy excellent artists very early.

 

Berlin – A “collector import city”?

Many German collectors, who want to present their collection to the public, opened their exhibition space in Berlin. Have you ever thought of opening the me Collectors Room in another city?
I still live in Essen, this is where my family and I have been located for many years. When I started showing pieces of my collection publicly it was amongst others at the Folkwang Museum in Essen. Consequently, I have also considered to build a permanent exhibition space in the Ruhr-area, but the most important thing for me was to make the collection accessible for as many international people as possible – Berlin seemed to be the right place to fulfill those efforts.

Do you often visit other collections in Berlin? Are you in constant contact with other private collectors?
I am quite often in Berlin and I would say that there is a good network here between the collectors – we talk about supporting each other and Julia Rust, the director of me Collectors Room, is also keeping me Collectors Room in contact with other collections and institutions in Berlin. There is let’s say a really good partnership.

Why do you think there is such a strong interest in the Berlin art scene?
Berlin has been in the focus of the art world for quite a while now. It does play an important role, not only in Germany but also globally, especially for artists. Of course you have to put that into a historical perspective. As we all know, artists and creative people found a place to live and work in Berlin – after the fall of the wall there were many cheap apartments, studios and creative hubs that did not need to be financially successful straight away. This creative potential has spread through generations and you still see many young artists and creative people moving to Berlin. It is a very inspirational city and the art scene in Berlin is very vivid due to the people living and working here and of course you can find a number of important museums and a lot of galleries.

Berlin has a vibrant art scene including a vast number of young and emerging artists. Are you frequently visiting galleries or studios to look for new artists?
I try to… but due to my busy schedule I don’t manage to do it as often as I would like to.

Could you name three emerging artists who recently gained your attention?
From Berlin, Jonas Burgert and Alicja Kwade; from Europe, Kris Martin; from the US, Sterling Ruby and from China, Ouyang Chun.

 

Presentation

What do you think are the main reasons for showing a private collection in a museum?
I can only answer this question from my personal point of view: I started to realize that there was a public interest in my collection when more and more museums approached me and asked me to support an exhibition with loans from my collection. So the idea was born to make my collection accessible for the public. With me Collectors Room I tried to create a place that is open, warm, lively and welcoming to a broad public at all ages. We decided to create the Olbricht Foundation that is focusing on arts education directed towards school classes and kindergarten-groups. We want to initiate an interest in art and creativity at an early age – some of the kids that take part in our workshops are only as young as four years old.

Are you also cooperating with public museums?
Yes, we cooperate with and support national and international public museums, for instance by loaning out artworks from the Olbricht Collection. Currently, there are long term loans at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Folkwang Museum Essen, the K20 in Düsseldorf and single works or group of works in different museums in Europe like the Witte de With in Rotterdam, the Neue Galerie in NYC or the Galerie Rudolfinum in Prague.

The me Collectors Room is not only a museum but also a place for conversations and events. What is the intention behind those events?
There are different kinds of activities. With our Collectors Talks we invite the Berlin public to meet and interact with other international collectors and gain an insight into their private collections. We organize readings, for instance with the Autonama, the national football team of German authors – they exercise on the football ground right next to me Collectors Room, which is more of an event for a non-art-public. With our expert and artist talks we want to offer in-depth-conversations about the current exhibition with scientists, curators, museum directors or artists. We also cooperate with the Konzerthaus Berlin in their series “Kiez Konzerte”– it is a very enjoyable way of meeting colleagues, friends, and quite frankly: who doesn’t enjoy music? The exhibition hall at me Collectors Room has great acoustics – so why not share it with musicians and the public? We are interested in different cultural projects not only art. We are open for all senses and it makes sense trying to connect these.

WONDERFUL Humboldt Crocodile Polke from The - Olbricht Collection Installation view , 2012.  Photo © me Collectors-Room, by Bernd Borchardt
WONDERFUL Humboldt Crocodile Polke from The Olbricht Collection Installation view, 2012.
Photo © me Collectors-Room, by Bernd Borchardt

Feature Photo © me Collectors Room Berlin, by Jana Ebert.

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The Artists