FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE:
works from the Pomeranz Collection
May 24–October 7, 2012
Jewish Museum Vienna
Dorotheergasse 11
1010 Vienna, Austria
www.jmw.at/exhibitions
www.pomeranz-collection.com
With works by
Marina Abramovic & Ulay, John M. Armleder, Francis Alÿs, Adel Abdessemed, Miroslaw Balka, Yael Bartana, Paul Chan, Claire Fontaine, Mircea Cantor, Keren Cytter, Jimmie Durham, Valie Export, Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Ceal Floyer, Ryan Gander, Douglas Gordon, Ion Grigorescu, Shilpa Gupta, Jenny Holzer, Thomas Hirschhorn, Imi Knoebel, Martin Kippenberger, Julius Koller, Sigalit Landau, Elad Lassry, Leigh Leidare, Jonathan Monk, David Maljkovic, Boris Mikhailov, Matt Mullican, Ciprian Muresan, Madein, Bruce Nauman, Hermann Nitsch, Deimantas Narkevicius, Roman Ondák, Adrian Paci, Philippe Parreno, Walid Raad, Michael Riedel, Robin Rhode, Joe Scanlan, Markus Schinwald, Danh Vo, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West
With more than 80 exhibits, the Pomeranz Collection now turns to the public for the first time. With the exhibition FREMDE ÜBERALL / FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE, curated by Ami Barak, the Jewish Museum Vienna will be introducing the Pomeranz Collection to a wider public from May 24 to October 7, 2012.
What made Eduard and Jana Pomeranz (EPSTIFTUNG) become collectors? What spirit of adventure led them to compile a collection of international contemporary art in such a short time? The exhibition FREMDE ÜBERALL / FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE attempts to provide answers to this question with works of exceptional quality. The title is taken from a work by the Claire Fontaine artists’ collective and reminds us that art is above all a reference to otherness, a picture of the other, and of society’s appreciation of openness towards the world. In this early 21st century, and in a city in which the Zeitgeist is still the order of the day, the Jewish Museum Vienna is showing a special exhibition in its newly renovated rooms in which the history of the present is juxtaposed with a past that has disappeared into a dark fog. For that reason alone, this major Jewish collector is of prime importance for Vienna’s art scene.
The collection includes advanced, contemporary art, which has been correspondingly contextualized through established positions since the 1960s. Its profile is marked by a distinctive interest in the sophisticated forms of minimalist and concept art, both in their historical examples and in current updates, in a focus on the performance aspects of the key figures of recent art history and in an increased attention on the eastern avant-garde. Primarily international positions, but also works by Austrian artists that are central and relevant in the art world can be found here. A section of the collection is exhibited in the premises of FTC Capital GmbH.
Ami Barak, the curator of both this exhibition and the collection, says: “What I am still trying to represent is to draw a portrait of the collector. The collection also reflects his personality, his history, his interests, and how he perceives the world and society.”
Born in 1969 in Odessa on the Black Sea, Eduard Pomeranz attended secondary school in Vienna and went on to study economics. Even during his studies at university, he was active as a securities analyst. In 1995 he went into business for himself and is chief executive officer of the financial company FTC Capital GmbH today.
Besides his successful professional activity, art collecting is one of the main concerns of Eduard Pomeranz and his wife Jana. With the foundation of the Pomeranz Collection in 2007, their passion for art acquired a basis in the form of a private foundation. So far the collection comprises up to 160 artworks.
“I am convinced that we do not live our lives but the lives of our values and belief systems. One of my values is to grow. By collecting art, I surround myself with things and mindsets that function in very different ways to my own. This is the basis for growth, one keeps an open mind,” says Eduard Pomeranz on a central motif that inspired him to establish his collection.
