BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Gertraud and Dieter Bogner

Kunstraum Buchberg – Gars am Kamp, Austria

Dieter and Gertraud Bogner, Pavilion ’Star of David’ by Dan Graham, 1989/96. Photo: Lukas Beck
Dieter and Gertraud Bogner, Pavilion ’Star of David’ by Dan Graham, 1989/96. Photo: Lukas Beck

What was the first piece of artwork you purchased, and when was this?

We started collecting in the late 1970s, when we organized our first exhibitions, workshops and symposia on contemporary Concrete and Constructive Art. We do not remember the first piece we bought.

Roland Goeschl, ’Raum-Eck-Komposition’, 1984
Roland Goeschl, ’Raum-Eck-Komposition’, 1984
Dóra Maurer, ’Quasi Bild’, 1983
Dóra Maurer, ’Quasi Bild’, 1983

Does your collection follow a concept or a specific theme?

At the beginning, we wanted to own artworks of the artists we were working with. Quite soon we realized that Concrete and Conceptual Art were not on the radar of Austrian museums and collectors in the early 1980s. After our first experiences in this particular field of contemporary art and conducting art historical research on Russian Constructivism, De Stijl and Bauhaus at the same time, our interest grew rapidly and so did the collection. But we didn’t get stuck in the 1970s and early 1980s; we reconsidered our position always in relation to upcoming generations. But another aspect is very important for our collection-building process: In 1982, Dora Maurer, an Hungarian artist, asked us if she could paint a room in one of the empty and neglected rooms in our huge historical castle which lays about an hours drive north of Vienna. This was the beginning of Kunstraum Buchberg, our private collection of site-specific installations situated in the gardens, courtyards and rooms of the old building. To date, twenty-five installations have been realized with many of them not able to be transferred to another location because they have become part of the building. The mobile part of the collection and the installations are closely linked together. We’ve acquired artworks from all the artists we invited to come to Buchberg.

Monika Brandmeier, ’sehr sehr’, 1988
Monika Brandmeier, ’sehr sehr’, 1988
François Morellet, ’Géométrees and through’, 1984/1986
François Morellet, ’Géométrees and through’, 1984/1986

Who are the artists you are currently following?

We do not follow specific artists. We focus on new developments in the field of our interest, acquiring artworks we think will build up an interesting tension between the various historical positions in our collection.

Do you have a personal relationship with the artist you collect?

Not necessarily! For us, it is not important to know an artist personally when we buy an artwork. But to experience the artist’s personal context and his conceptual thoughts is helpful to generate individual knowledge. We sometimes worked with the artists who installed their work in Buchberg castle for several years; they lived with us and became good friends.

John Hilliard, ’Untitled’, 1986
John Hilliard, ’Untitled’, 1986

Why did you decide to make your collection publicly accessible?

Each new installation in the castle was presented to the public when it was finished. But we also organized exhibitions combining our collections with loans. People who came were not visitors but our personal guests; you have to call us in advance, and if we find a mutual date you can come to see the site-specific installations and have a coffee with us. We call it "private-public". The majority of our guests are international museum groups visiting Vienna and aiming to see the "hidden" places of the city. They come to see the integration of contemporary art in a historical building situated in an unique landscape. Ten years ago, we donated our mobile collection to the Museum of Modern Art (mumok), Vienna. We assumed that it would be more important to fill a gap in the public museum collection than to store it in the castle. We gave it away without any conditions, being convinced that the museum would show the artworks in ever changing constellations. And now, after ten years, we are still happy with this solution. In November we will curate an exhibition at mumok, showing on 500 square meters a conceptual selection of our collection. It’s the first time we will be able to see many of the artworks, which we collected over thirty years, side by side.

Which publicly accessible private collection would you recommend visiting?

The Museum Insel Hombroich near Düsseldorf.

All images courtesy Kunstraum Buchberg, Gars am Kamp

More Information on Kunstraum Buchberg

Collectors (77)

Narda van 't Veer

The Narda van 't Veer Collection – Monnickendam, Netherlands

Rashid Al Khalifa

RAK ART FOUNDATION – Riffa, Bahrain

Olivier Chow

The Olivier Chow Collection – Lausanne, Switzerland

Valeria Napoleone

Valeria and Gregorio Napoleone Collection – London, UK

Matteo Novarese

SOF:ART – Bologna, Italy

Martin Steppacher

Gallery Durchgang – Basel, Switzerland

Carmelo Graci

Graci Collection – Mantova, Italy

Dr. William Lim

Living Collection – Hong Kong

NICOLA ERNI

Nicola Erni Collection – Steinhausen, Switzerland

Lukas Jakob

Jakob Collection – Gundelfingen, Germany

Claus Busch Risvig

Bech Risvig Collection – Silkeborg, Denmark

Joseph Awuah-Darko

The Terra Collection Of African Contemporary Art – Accra, Ghana | London, UK

INGRID AND THOMAS JOCHHEIM

Ingrid and Thomas Jochheim Collection – Berlin, Germany

Michał Borowik

Michał Borowik Collection – Warsaw, Poland

Bernardo Paz

Instituto Inhotim – Centro de Arte Contemporânea e Jardim Botânico – Brumadinho, Brazil

Tony Salamé

Aïshti Foundation – Beirut, Lebanon

Nadia & Rajeeb Samdani

Samdani Art Foundation (SAF), Dhaka, Bangladesh

Lord David Cholmondeley

Houghton Hall – King's Lynn, Great Britain

Galila Barzilaï-Hollander

Galila's P.O.C., Brussels, Belgium

Martin Margulies

The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse – Miami, United States of America

Christine and Andrew Hall

Hall Art Foundation - Reading, USA & Derneburg, Germany

Qiao Zhibing

TANK Shanghai and Qiao Space - Shanghai, China

Christen Sveaas

Kistefos Museet, Jevnaker, Norway

Noemi Givon

Givon Art Forum – Tel Aviv, Israel

Michael Buxton

Buxton Contemporary - Melbourne, Australia

Seth Stolbun

The Stolbun Collection – Houston, USA

Jochen Zeitz

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) - Cape Town, Africa

Dominique & Sylvain Levy

DSLCollection – Paris, France

Andrea von Goetz

Sammlung Blankenburg – Hamburg, Germany

Gordon Elliott

The Elliott Eyes Collection - Sydney, Australia

The Vague Space

Christian Kaspar Schwarm on the first solo presentation of his collection at the Weserburg Bremen

Anita Zabludowicz

Zabludowicz Collection – London, United Kingdom

Anastasios A. Gkekas

The Office Collection - Nicosia, Cyprus

Rik Reinking

WAI - Woods Art Institute, Wentorf bei Hamburg, Germany

Maria Didrichsen

Didrichsen Art Museum – Helsinki, Finland

João Carlos de Figueiredo Ferraz

Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz (IFF) - São Paulo, Brazil

Julia Stoschek

Julia Stoschek Collection – Dusseldorf, Germany

Maurizio Morra Greco

Fondazione Morra Greco, Naples, Italy

Christian & Karen Boros

Sammlung Boros – Berlin, Germany

Timo Miettinen

Salon Dahlmann – Berlin, Germany

Marli Hoppe-Ritter

Sammlung Marli Hoppe-Ritter – Waldenbuch, Germany

Désiré Feuerle

The Feuerle Collection – Berlin, Germany

Gudrun & Bernd Wurlitzer

Wurlitzer Pied A Terre Collection – Berlin, Germany

Corbett Lyon

Lyon Housemuseum – Melbourne, Australia

Geert Verbeke-Lens

Verbeke Foundation – Kemzeke, Belgium

László Vass

Vass Collection – Veszprém, Hungary

Daisuke Miyatsu

Dream House – Ichikawa, Japan

Samara Walbohm & Joe Shlesinger

Scrap Metal Gallery – Toronto, Canada

Charles Riva

Charles Riva Collection – Brussels, Belgium

Venke & Rolf Hoff

KaviarFactory – Lofoten, Norway

Alain Servais

Servais Family Collection – Brussels, Belgium

Ivo Wessel

Sammlung Ivo Wessel - Berlin, Germany

Ramin Salsali

Salsali Private Museum – Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Vittorio Gaddi

Collezione Nunzia e Vittorio Gaddi – Lucca, Italy

Miguel Leal Rios

Fundação Leal Rios – Lisbon, Portugal

Bob Rennie

Rennie Collection at Wing Sang – Vancouver, Canada

Heiner Wemhöner

Sammlung Wemhöner – Herford, Germany

Lin Han

M WOODS – Beijing, China

Kenny Goss

The Goss-Michael Foundation – Dallas, USA

Karsten Schmitz

Arbeitswohnung Federkiel – Leipzig, Germany

Devon Dikeou

The Dikeou Collection - Denver, USA

Thomas Olbricht

ME Collectors Room Berlin/Stiftung Olbricht – Berlin, Germany

Mera & Donald Rubell

Rubell Family Collection – Miami, USA

Pétur Arason

Safn – Berlin, Germany / Reykjavík, Iceland

Steffen Hildebrand

G2 Kunsthalle – Leipzig, Germany

Frédéric de Goldschmidt

Frédéric de Goldschmidt – Brussels, Belgium

Daniel Teo

The Private Museum – Singapore, Singapore

Claudio Cosma

Sensus – Luoghi per l’arte Contemporanea – Florence, Italy

Michał Borowik

Michał Borowik Collection – Warsaw, Poland

Herbert Gerisch

Herbert-Gerisch-Stiftung - Neumünster, Germany

José Berardo

Museu Coleção Berardo – Lisbon, Portugal

Bärbel Grässlin and Karola Kraus

Sammlung Grässlin - St. Georgen, Germany

Joëlle and Eric Romba

Rocca Stiftung – Berlin, Germany

Myriam and Amaury de Solages

Maison Particulière – Brussels, Belgium

Friedrich Gräfling

Sammlung Fiede - Aschaffenburg, Germany