ART CITIES:Amsterdam-Bad Thoughts

The title of the exhibition, “Bad Thoughts”, is derived from a photo work by Gilbert & George. It’s a light-hearted comment on the adventure of private art collecting, as well as the interest in the darker side of the human psyche, evident in many of the works in the Sanders Collection.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Stedelijk Museum Archive

The exhibition, is a unique, large-scale survey of the works assembled by Amsterdam collectors Martijn and Jeannette Sanders, one of the most important private collections in the Netherlands. The Sanders Collection contains a diverse array of several hundred paintings, sculptures, assemblages, photos, drawings, text-based artworks, films, videos, and installations by over 350 mostly European and American artists. When the Sanders began collecting in the ‘70s , there were only a few Dutch collectors of contemporary art. Unlike many private collections, the Sanders Collection is notable for featuring a significant group of “core artists” whose work is represented in great depth, including Ger van Elk, Gilbert & George, Anselm Kiefer, Cindy Sherman, David Claerbout, Thomas Demand, and Anton Henning. The collection also holds a substantial body of conceptual art and narrative art of the 1970s, workw by the Italian trans-avant-garde (Cucchi, Chia, Clemente), and German painting of the 1970s and 1980s (Lüpertz, Penck, and Baselitz). Recent acquisitions by the Sanders include works by Johan Grimonprez, Harun Farocki, and Hito Steyerl.

For the Sanders, collecting art is both a personal matter and an intuitive process. It is their way of life, and their collection reads as a journal. “It is truly a private collection in the sense that we collect for our own pleasure – we have lived with these artworks” says Martijn Sanders. “But it was never our ambition to build a collection of museum quality. The fact that it will soon hang in a museum is an incredible honor. At the same time, I hope visitors will sense the collection’s private nature”. During their 42 years of collecting art, the Sanders have never before exhibited their collection on this scale. A small number of pieces from Martijn and Jeannette Sanders’ collection was first presented at the Stedelijk Museum in 1985. The presentation will occupy the spacious lower-level gallery in the new wing, in a special architectural configuration designed by Florian Idenburg. Gilbert & George and Anton Henning had closely involved in installing their spaces. Henning will even created an installation expressly for the exhibition. Participating artists: Mac Adams, Douglas Huebler, John Ahearn, Anselm Kiefer, Armando, Martin Kippenberger, Georg Baselitz, Robert Longo, Rita McBride, Juan Munoz, Frank Van den Broeck, Gabriel Orozco, David Claerbout, Marc Quinn, Gregory Crewdson, Allen Ruppersberg, Robert Cumming, Thomas Schütte, Thomas Demand, Andres Serrano, Ger van Elk, Cindy Sherman, Ed van der Elsken, Hito Steyerl, Gilbert & George, Peter Struycken, Keith Haring, Maja Weyerman, Anton Henning, Christopher Wool, Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler.

Info: Curating Martijn van Nieuwenhuyzen, Stedelijk Museum, Museumplein 10, Amsterdam, Duration: 20/7/14-11/1/15, Days & Hours: Fri-Wed: 10:00-18:00, Thu: 10:00-20:00, www.stedelijk.nl