With its latest acquisition, the Viehof Collection has expanded its extensive collection of photographs by Thomas Struth to include another work—which is also the artist’s largest photographic work in the collection to date. This technical motif complements the depictions of nature in the 101-part Winterthur series as well as the “Paradises” series.

Measuring approximately 170 x 436 cm, “Beam Line Zone 1” is an extremely large-format work. It depicts a particle beam line in the large EHN1 (Experimental Hall North Area 1) at CERN. It is a panoramic view that captures technical chaos—cables, pipes, magnets—within an almost orderly, aesthetic structure.  Through it, humanity’s endeavor to master the forces of nature comes to the fore, even though humanity itself is an inseparable part of the very nature it seeks to control.

One of the most recent additions to the Viehof Collection is a painting by Sabine Moritz, who thus expands the ranks of female artists in the Viehof Collection by one.

The work ‘Columbus, 2025’ shows a dense network of gestural, overlapping brushstrokes in bold, sometimes contrasting colours. The composition appears deliberately open and non-hierarchical: there is no central motif, but rather an all-over field in which forms are suggested and then dissolve again. In terms of painting technique, the work combines expressive, almost impulsive gestures with controlled colour transitions. The visible brushstrokes and the juxtaposition of transparent and impasto areas create depth without asserting an illusionistic space. The title refers less to a concrete representation than to the motif of ‘discovery’ – understood as an ambivalent, historically burdensome act. Layers of paint cover each other, lines push forward and break off again. Instead of clearer orientation, a visual terrain emerges that is constantly in motion. Thus, ‘Columbus’ exemplifies Moritz's approach of not formulating historical or conceptual references narratively, but rather translating them into an open, painterly structure.

In 2008, the Viehof Collection was able to acquire a very special group of photographic works. These are the 101 C-prints from the Winterthur series by Thomas Struth. The Viehof Collection is the only art collection in the world to hold so many works from this series. The flower paintings and landscapes by Thomas Struth were created between 1991 and 1993. They were commissioned for patients rooms in a private clinic in Winterthur, Switzerland. The Viehof Collection is the only art collection in the world to include all 101 artworks from this series.

Sea of flowers and landscapes – nothing but nature as far as the eye can see. Ones first thought is that this is rather simple, trivial subject matter; after all, our culture today considers plant and flower motifs to be primarily decorative. The artworks are intended to be like windows, opening up the space and connecting patients‘ rooms to a living cosmos. They are not simply décor. In his flower pictures, created by photographing from close proximity, from different angles, and sometimes using overexposure or underexposure, Struth is not interested in portraying perfection. Instead, the theme of these photographs is a fantastic living diversity that – like the patients living in the rooms – are not in a state of stable equilibrium, but within the flow of time. Struth sometimes shows us closed buds, wilting flowers, crooked branches, or dried leaves. The flowers and landscapes are not intended simply to please the eye. Nor is this a schematic arrangement of botanical classifications. If it were, then the sole dandelion flower in Einzelner Löwenzahn – N°37, Düsseldorf, Neanderstraße 25 1993 would have to be seen as a representative of all existing dandelion flowers. On the contrary, Struth is concerned solely with this individual flower, with its peculiar characteristics. The flower is portrayed here heavily magnified, authentically, as a fragile individual. The concrete location in the title serves to emphasise this.

Text: Annika Forjahn, in: Freischwimmer - Fotografie der Sammlung Viehof und des Museum Kurhaus Kleve, 2020, S. 88-97

Part of the collection’s philosophy is to provide comprehensive conservation care for all works of art, which, in addition to addressing immediate damage, focuses primarily on damage prevention. This includes proper storage, exhibition presentation methods tailored to conservation requirements, and, of course, individualized handling. Unusual materials and techniques often present new challenges for the conservators working on the Viehof Collection. When it comes to solving such problems, there are always innovations that can be adapted to greatly simplify handling. One example of this is the field of large-scale canvas works.

Part of the collection’s philosophy is to provide comprehensive conservation care for all works of art, which, in addition to addressing immediate damage, focuses primarily on damage prevention. This includes proper storage, exhibition presentation methods tailored to conservation requirements, and, of course, individualized handling. Unusual materials and techniques often present new challenges for the conservators working on the Viehof Collection. When it comes to solving such problems, there are always innovations that can be adapted to greatly simplify handling. One example of this is the field of large-scale canvas works.

In addition to paintings that are permanently mounted, our collection also includes artworks that, due to their size, can only be stored and transported on rolls. When these are requested for an exhibition, the canvas is mounted at the exhibition site under the guidance of experts. In conventional mounting, the edge of the canvas is stapled to the side or back of the stretcher frame. This puts strain on both the canvas and the frame every time the painting is mounted or unmounted. In cases where the entire surface of the canvas has been painted, even the outermost layer of paint is perforated. A conventional method to reduce material wear—at least with regard to the painting—is to sew a hem around the entire edge, which is then used as a mounting surface on the frame. However, there is a newer, even gentler method in which the canvas is stretched using a magnetic system. Thin metal rails are mounted on the frame. The canvas is clamped between these rails and strong small magnets. This offers the advantage that no intervention in the original material of the canvas itself is required.

The image on the left shows one such artwork—in this case by Jörg Immendorff—that has been adapted for magnetic mounting; it is over seven meters long.