Collector's Catalogue: Vol. 1 Issue 3

The Corporate Collection Andrea Alessi visits the Rabo Art Collection in Utrecht This admission shouldn’t surprise you, but I don’t really like going to the bank. At best, it’s a necessary chore, and an uninspiring one at that. Yet I recently went to a bank of my own volition, stayed for nearly two hours, and enjoyed it. Predictably, I wasn’t there for a sweet deal on my mortgage. Instead, I was visiting the Rabo Kunstzone, the exhibition space of the Rabo Art Collection, one of the top corporate art collections in the Netherlands.  Forbes Magazine recently highlighted some of the world’s best corporate art collections, including UBS, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, andProgressive Auto Insurance. At their most basic, corporate collections begin with the task of adorning lobbies and office walls, ideally creating and fostering a stimulating work environment. These collections stand out, however, in the ways they go beyond these initial concerns, building rich and challenging collections while often connecting to communities outside their (beautified) company walls. With about 1,100 works in its collection, Rabobank is just a baby next to these collecting heavyweights (by comparison, UBS and JPMorgan Chase have upwards of 30,000 artworks each; Deutsche Bank, a whopping 57,000). But in spirit and mission Rabobank is every bit as large, situated clearly among the corporate art collections that are doing something different. As a patron of the arts Rabobank engages its own business community as well as the general public through education and inspiration. ...Read more...

Artists:  Where do they work? How much do they work? What do they earn? Using the 2006-2008 PUMS microdata sample and 2005-2010 data from the US Census, the ArtSlant Team looks at artists, employment and earning power. ...Read more...

Paul Cowan, whose work will be featured this fall in a solo Chicago Works show at the MCA, as well as numerous solo and group shows nationally and internationally, is an artist of frustration. His paintings create awkward moments that call attention to the act of judgment... ...Read more...

ArtSlant's Collector's Catalogue is a special edition publication focused on bringing new artists and new work to the attention of our worldwide audience of seasoned buyers, committed art lovers, and first-time purchasers. The artists included in our August 2012 Collector's Catalogue can be contacted directly or through their galleries. ArtSlant is pleased to present them for your consideration.