Advice & Collectionbuilding

The building of a private art collection usually starts because one is hit by the beauty or is fascinated by artworks. Sometimes, however, representation, status or investment play a dominant role.

The perspective from which one starts an art collection and the financial resources made available for this purpose, ask each for its own specific approach when building a collection.

Art as office decoration and representation

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Dominique Chan

Most of the Dutch companies have modern art as a rental collection in their interior. A lot of these companies have also purchased modern art, often without the prime motivation to build a collection, but rather because of reasons as: representation; improving the working environment for employees; embellishment of the interior; or simply because they did not want to say goodbye to an artwork anymore.

The criterion here is usually that one is moved by the art and touched by its beauty.

 Art as social engagement and marketing

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Leo Wijnhoven

 

In recent decades thousands of companies have knowingly built a collection of contemporary modern art, because of their involvement with society, the evolution of young artists, but also based on marketing considerations. Such a collection is appreciated for its beauty and quality, and its value has risen sharply over the years.

A select group of large companies or institutions with a substantial collection, have joined in 2005 the VNBC, Association of Dutch Business Collections, with the aim of rotating these business collections in various exhibitions.

Here the criterion is usually that art should be representative and image and status enhancing, in addition to the qualitative aspect of aesthetics.

Art as investment 

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                                                                Armand 1928-2005

However companies who see art as a real investment, are still a small group.
Trends of a rapidly emerging market for artworks by the most famous masters of modern art movements of the 20th century, are visible through the emergence of a number of art and hedge funds. The largest fund, the Fine Art Fund of the Briton Philip Hoffman, is doing good business with large corporations and wealthy investors in the West, but also in the Gulf states such as Dubai and China .
The European Fine Art Index  by researcher Rachel Campbell, who follows the evolution of the artworks which are seen as the best investment, is also an indicator of a booming developing investment market in art.
Through large purchases of work of unknown young artist, these investors are able to make these artists a talented, renowned and sought after investment in the art market in a short time. Publicity concerning these purchases increases the interest of major art exhibitions, including Documenta, the Venice Biennale, and participating in these exhibitions increases the value and price of these artworks even more.
The criterion here is usually not aesthetically but first and foremost to make short-term profit

Art collections as communication tool for socially sustainable vision and policy