To Art its Freedom

UBS has been an active collector of contemporary art since the 1960s and, today, the UBS Art Collection is considered one of the most important corporate collections of contemporary art in the world. ‘UBS Art Collection: To Art its Freedom’ is a visual essay that captures the essence of the Collection, exploring its history and evolution, as well as the various impulses that have shaped it across decades and continents.

The publication features more than 200 color illustrations of works by established and emerging artists, including seminal works by Christine Ay Tjoe, Jean Michel Basquiat, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Yang Fudong,  Andreas Gursky, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman and Liu Wei, among others. A text entitled ‘UBS Art Collection: A History and a Moment’, written by Global Head Mary Rozell, presents the collection’s history and reflects on its future. It accompanies a central essay by noted art historian and curator Dieter Buchhart, ‘To Art its Freedom: A Collection as Emblem of Post-postmodern Polyphony’, which contextualizes the Collection within art history and explores connections between the works.

’UBS Art Collection: To Art its Freedom’ is intended to juxtapose Pop art with geometric abstractions and photography, resulting in a dynamic exchange of some of the most intriguing and influential artists and ideas from 1962 to the present, comments Mary Rozell. “The range of artwork featured in the publication underscores the company’s long-standing commitment to contemporary art.”