Slater Bradley, My Doppelganger as Ian Curtis in a Sad Pose, 2001
c-print, 126 x 99 cm
the ubs art at work collection (as distinct from
“our amBition iS that
the UBS Art Collection, which includes work by blue-
chip artists ranging from Josef Albers to Erwin Wurm),
assembled by Senior Art Advisor Sir Christopher Mallaby
the art we Show will
and Art Advisor Stephen McCoubrey, focuses on the work
of artists under the age of thirty-five. “Our ambition”, says inSpire creativity and
McCoubrey, “is that the art we show will inspire creativity
and invite the people who live with it to think beyond
invite the people who live
their working day”. And there’s no arguing that working
in a room with a Slater Bradley print of his doppleganger
with it to think Beyond
posing as Joy Division’s Ian Curtis would give a banking
executive pause for thought. But perhaps even stranger still,
these kind of artworks feel like one of the few intrusions
their working day”
of ‘reality’ into UBS’s sterile office interiors and onscreen
money management.
The artists in the collection range from 2006 Turner work by artists such as Abts, Mark Titchner, Ori Gersht,
Prize-winner Tomma Abts to younger talents such as Dan Holdsworth and Sarah Morris gracing the UBS walls,
Kate Atkin. That’s not to say there’s no room for people the Art at Work collection is probably worth a fair bit more
like Tony Cragg or Gregory Crewdson, but size is another than it cost to put together. Some works migrate to the main
factor: all the works in the collection need to be on a scale UBS Art Collection, a recent example being a drawing by
that can easily fit into the UBS offices. As much as UBS’s Charles Avery titled The Hunter’s Cabin (2004), and “there
involvement in the artworld consists of sponsoring the big will be more in the future”, McCoubrey promises.
institutions – Tate Modern and MoMA – and the big art Despite UBS’s widely reported recent losses, the
fairs – Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach – the Art at collecting continues. “We are working on buying a quite
Work collection could be viewed as an important way of a few groups of work for new and refurbished buildings
supporting art at a much more grassroots level. Of course in many of UBS’s markets,” McCoubrey says. Indeed,
it’s not all altruism, and there’s no doubting the fact that the London office is currently acquiring work for offices
– to use banking terminology – many of UBS’s assets are in Hong Kong and Singapore (other projects are being
appreciating in value. “We are not tied to a ceiling on price”, managed from UBS’s New York and Zürich offices). Who
says McCoubrey, “but we spend typical amounts for the knows, perhaps one day it could be the art that puts the
postgraduate and emerging sector of the market.” With bank back in the black.
Collecting_UBS.indd 87 7/11/07 10:02:36
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