Into the Spotlight

• Insight into a little-known collection of masterpieces - Leading collector of contemporary art from the 1960s onward - Works on paper and photography are the focal points

The Swiss company Baloise has a reputation among art experts, but not just as an insurance and financial services company. With its programs that support art, its collaborations with museums, and the renowned Baloise Art Prize for young artists, which is awarded at Art|Basel, the company has had a lasting effect on the development of contemporary art. Less well-known up to now is the fact that, parallel to the company's activities, it has also built a first-class art collection, which dates back to the mid-twentieth century. Since turning to contemporary art in the 1990s, the company has collected the works of notable artists. With a focus on photography and works on paper from the 1960s onward, some of the artists represented in the collection are Miriam Cahn, Simon Denny, Katharina Fritsch, Bruce Nauman, and Jeff Wall. Into the Spotlight. Art at Baloise is the first publication to provide a broader audience with an overview of the collection. Informative texts by prestigious authors accompany the artworks.

Headquartered in Basel, the BALOISE insurance and financial services company began collecting art in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1990s the focus on art from Basel expanded as the company built a far-reaching program to support the arts, opening up to international contemporary art on paper, and photography.

Autorentext
Die Schweizer Künstlerin MIRIAM CAHN (*1949, Basel) setzt sich in Ölmalereien, Kohle-, Kreide-, Farb- und Bleistiftzeichnungen, Fotografien, Filmen und Installationen mit politischen und gesellschaftlichen Themen auseinander. Charakteristisch für ihre Werke ist eine starke Farbigkeit, die mit den wiederkehrenden Motiven Gewalt, Zärtlichkeit, Krieg, Verwüstung und körperliche Versehrtheit starke Kontraste bildet. Ihr Schaffen selbst schreibend zu kommentieren, zieht sich dabei als roter Faden durch Cahns künstlerischen Werdegang. Sie durchleuchtet ihre eigenen Arbeiten, kommentiert dabei das Kunst- und Weltgeschehen und stellt die Texte auch in Ausstellungen und Publikationen den Werken gegenüber.