Anna and Josef Froehlich started collecting art actively in 1982 and became closely involved with a number of artists, including Joseph Beuys. The collection (based in Stuttgart) now numbers more than 320 pieces and includes the work of ten American and nine German artists, all key figures in the art of the last four decades. Based on the principle of Sammlungsblöcke ('collection blocks'), each artist is represented by a group of works to give a representative selection of their oeuvre. The Froehlichs' desire to make a collection of German and American art is derived in part from Josef's experience of both cultures in the 1950s and 1960s; he lived in Germany and America during this period.
This exhibition brings together the work of Andy Warhol, Richard Artschwager and Bruce Nauman in the riverside galleries and that of Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer, Sigmar PoIke, Gerhard Richter and Georg Baselitz in the dockside galleries. The selection of work highlights some of the influences, similarities and differences between the artists and provides an insight into the divergences of practice.
