VP Bank art foundation – on the occasion of its anniversary

For 25 years, the VP Bank Art Foundation has been promoting fine art and helping to shape the world of work in a sustainable way through art in the workplace.

The establishment of the VP Bank Art Foundation on 19 December 1996 was the logical progression of the Bank’s lasting commitment to promoting art and culture, which is also one of the principles of its long-standing principal shareholders. In coordination with the VP Bank Foundation, which was established in 2006 on the occasion of the Bank’s 50th anniversary and promotes education, science, culture, the environment and social issues, it is an effective instrument for the specific promotion of the arts. 

According to its Articles of Association, the purpose of the non-profit VP Bank Art Foundation is to collect works of visual art, promote the visual arts through acquisitions and academic publications, provide conservational care for the works collected, make loans available for exhibitions, cultivate an appreciation of art in general and, what is particularly characteristic of the role of foundation and collector, exhibit works from the collection on the Bank’s premises.

When the Foundation was established, the Bank, as the founder, also handed over the existing art collection that had been built up with great care by the Bank’s then ­General Manager Dr Heinz Batliner, along with capital in line with the Foundation’s objectives. The Foundation receives annual contributions from the Bank, which also ensures the conservational framework for the care of the collection.

The Foundation has defined a clear collection policy based on its defined goals and financial framework, and has ­pursued this policy over the years. Purchases were focussed increasingly on original works, and works of modern art from 1950 to the present day, with abstract painting, complemented by sculptures, forming the main part of the collection. The collection comprises both international and regional art of high quality.

Hans Brunhart is Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. The collection is looked after with meticulous care by Annett Höland, a qualified curator. She also has the task of implementing the key specific feature of the Foundation’s goals, namely to promote encounters with “art in the workplace” by employees and clients. Through the Foundation’s art collection, VP Bank also defines its corporate culture in cultural terms by bringing art to the worlds of work and business, not as a contrast but as an asset in terms of quality of life.

Walking through the premises of VP Bank, art is encountered in offices and meeting rooms, hallways or stairwells, where it has to hold its own against the everyday business environment with its screens, photocopiers, filing cabinets and water coolers. The spatial conditions of VP Bank’s premises play a deciding role in the selection and placement of the works and influence the acquisition policy.

The construction of the new Triesen Service Centre in 2004 with its architectural concept provided the VP Bank Art Foundation with new possibilities for the presentation of large-format works. The purchases made for this purpose also generated interest in the VP Bank Art Foundation as a lender. The VP Bank Art Foundation was able to attract attention through loans to renowned establishments in Switzerland and abroad, such as the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Gemeente Museum in The Hague, the Kunstmuseum Thurgau and the Kunsthaus Centre d’art Pasquart in Biel.

The exhibition “Out of Office. 25 Years of the VP Bank Art Foundation” at the Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts was a special highlight. On the occasion of the anniversary, a representative selection of works from the collection was shown for the first time outside the premises of VP Bank in a museum. The exhibition was curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll and Henrik Utermöhle and is part of a series of exhibitions of private collections from Liechtenstein. The opening event took place in the context of the museum’s grand reopening the after a closure of several weeks, and presents the collection to a wider public.

The activities of the VP Bank Art Foundation, which are based on the Foundation’s goals, will continue to focus on supporting artists through the acquisition of works in the future. The aim will be to further expand the collection and increase its diversity in terms of the age and gender of the artists. As in the past 25 years, it will continue to be important in the future to take into account the spatial changes in the working world and make it a meaningful and appealing environment for experiencing art.

Since its inception, the VP Bank Art Foundation has pursued its goal of integrating art into the world of work. In line with this underlying approach, artists will increasingly be invited to collaborate directly within the framework of direct commissions or art on building projects. In this way, the VP Bank Art Foundation would like to give artists the opportunity to help shape the world of work beyond the painting on the wall.

To mark its 25th anniversary, the VP Bank Art Foundation published an art catalogue in March 2022 entitled “ART – WORK. 25 Years VP Bank Art Foundation”, showcasing the works from the collection.