Marga Paz

Text in English, German and Spanish. With an exhibition checklist and bibliography. This is the beautifully produced, oversized hardbound catalogue published in conjunction with the 2004 Reina Sofia Madrid exhibition of works from the extraordinary contemporary art holdings amassed over the previous two decades by legendary publisher Benedikt Taschen. "Benedikt Taschen began seriously building his personal collection in 1985, through his involvement in the contemporary art world. It is limited to a small number of artists by whom he owns a great number of pieces. This concentration both traces the development of the work of a few over time and allows us to explore their scope and vision in greater depth. Among the best-represented artists of the collection are Germans Albert Oehlen and Martin Kippenberger (with more than a hundred works each), and the American artists Jeff Koons and Mike Kelley. Additionally, Taschen owns many quality pieces representing key artists from the generation that emerged in the 1980s and is still active today. Among them: Thomas Struth, Gunther Forg, Cindy Sherman, Christopher Wool, Darren Almond, Werner Buttner, Andre Butzer, and Wolfgang Tillmans, not to forget photography doyens Julius Shulman and Helmut Newton, and Elmer Batters and Eric Stanton.A private collection of the caliber of that of German publisher Benedikt Taschen allows us to approach the art of a particular moment in history from a new point of view. Highlighting artists and works that museums and other institutions may have ignored, the personal choice of the collector often follows a path divergent from that of the art establishment. Hence the great interest by MNCARS in bringing important private collections, such as those of Ileana Sonnabend, Ernst Beyeler and Panza di Biumo, to the general public.… (meer)