Art reflects who we are – as a society, as individuals and as an institution. UBS has been collecting contemporary art since the 1960s. It is a passion that we share with a large global community of clients. Our guiding mission is to collaborate with and collect work by the most significant artists of our time. We aim to collect art that inspires, sparks conversations and provides new perspectives.
UBS is recognized as having one of the most important corporate collections of contemporary art, with over 40,000 works - encompassing paintings, photographs, works on paper, sculptures, installations and video/digital art. The Collection has grown to encompass artists representing cultures from around the world, including iconic art of the last half century and new acquisitions by some of the most exciting artists of our time.
One of the defining legacies of our collection is ambitious site-specific commissions created out of close collaboration with living artists over many years. Now on permanent display at the UBS Art Gallery in New York is Sarah Morris’s site-specific, monumental wall painting measuring over 44 feet in length, which was first created as an on-site installation at a UBS building in 2001. For our recently refurbished headquarters in Zurich, John Armleder created a colorful and energetic site-specific painting commission to mark the office’s reopening, and the refreshed displays at our Broadgate office in London includes new monumental site-specific neon commission by Cerith Wyn Evans. The Art Basel shows provide further opportunities for artist collaborations and we have presented exhibitions in the UBS Lounge by Shinique Smith, Federico Herrero, Sarah Morris and Carlos Cruz-Diez at recent editions of the fairs.
The UBS Art Collection reflects the many paths our business has taken as we have grown to become one of the world’s largest financial institutions. It incorporates key works from our former collections in both Europe and the US as well as new acquisitions – mirroring today’s global business. The vast majority of these works are displayed in UBS offices globally, serving as an inspiration for our employees and a platform to spark dialogue with clients and the public.
UBS acquires works from around the globe, paralleling the firm’s growth in key markets such as Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. We are also committed to supporting and encouraging the artistic communities in places where UBS operates. Along with displaying works in UBS offices around the globe, we collaborate with international institutions on exhibitions and actively lend works to major art museums and cultural institutions. The UBS Art Gallery in New York enables us to share our Collection even more broadly with the public.
The UBS Art Collection is headed by Mary Rozell, who is based in New York. She is supported by a global team located in Zurich, London, New York and Hong Kong.
