Intensification of the long-term collaboration with the Marx Collection and strengthening of the "Hamburger Bahnhof" brand agreed
Press release from 07/13/2007
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the collector Erich Marx have now reached supplementary and selective new agreements as a sustainable basis for the future-oriented work of the "Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart". Accordingly, the Marx Collection will be curated exclusively by the academic staff of the National Museums in Berlin. Together with the collector, they will develop concepts for expanding the collection with works of contemporary art. Targeted advertising measures and an integrative presentation as part of the Hamburger Bahnhof's exhibition programmes will significantly strengthen the public perception of the museum and the Marx Collection and establish the Hamburger Bahnhof as a brand. In addition, a lively museum shop, specially designed for the museum, will strengthen visitor loyalty.
Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, commented: "All outstanding issues have been satisfactorily resolved. It is very pleasing that we were able to talk so openly and constructively with Erich Marx. We have created a good and solid basis. The long-term nature of the collaboration with the Marx Collection is assured and new perspectives are opening up for the Hamburger Bahnhof. The potential for the presentation of contemporary art offered by the first-class works in the Marx Collection will become even more clearly visible in the future."
Erich Marx explains: "It is good for me to know and I am delighted that the collection will remain at Hamburger Bahnhof in the long term, where it has belonged from the outset due to the history of the building. With the planned activities, some of which have already been initiated, the museum will attract more attention. It is very important to me that the museum has an attractive, lively profile that is characterised by quality. Productive co-operation with the museum is a prerequisite for achieving this goal. There is a willingness to do this on both sides."
The permanent loan of Erich Marx's collection led to the founding of the Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart, which opened in 1996. With numerous outstanding works by Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Anselm Kiefer, Donald Judd, Julian Schnabel and Eberhard Havekost, the collection represents important positions in post-1960 art. The new agreements supplement the revised contract signed between the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Marx Foundation at the end of 2005. Part of the collection is currently being exhibited in Baden-Baden for four months, while another part is on display at the Hamburger Bahnhof. From November 2007, the collection will be presented in a new exhibition at the Hamburger Bahnhof.