ERGO Opens Its Doors as Part of the Current Gerhard Richter Exhibition at Düsseldorf's Kunstpalast Museum

ERGO Group AG is taking part in the exhibition 'Gerhard Richter. Hidden Treasures. Works from Rhenish Private Collections', which the museum is showing from 5 September 2024 to 2 February 2025, with the painting 'Seestück' and the two large-format oil paintings 'VICTORIA I' and 'VICTORIA II'.

Image: © ERGO / Rainer Rehfeld

While visitors will be able to view 'Seestück' in the Kunstpalast itself, the two oil paintings will remain in the Düsseldorf foyer of the insurance company due to their size and will thus be integrated into the exhibition at their original location: A route from the Kunstpalast in the Ehrenhof to ERGO at ERGO-Platz 2 will lead interested visitors directly into the foyer to view the works on site.

Gerhard Richter, then a professor at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, painted the two pictures in 1986 for the new building of the then VICTORIA insurance company, one of the predecessor companies of ERGO Group AG. The artist took up the allegorical meaning of the company's name - 'VICTORIA I' and 'VICTORIA II' - and produced the paintings on a single canvas, each measuring 608 x 406 cm. In this sense, the paintings are the largest works Richter has ever created on commission and for a public space.

The 140 x 140 cm Seestück (Seascape) from 1969, on show in the exhibition, is one of a series of 25 paintings of the same name and is classified as a photo-painting in Richter's catalogue raisonné. The painter used photographs to depict the sky and the sea.

Dr Lena Lindemann, Member of the Board of Management of ERGO Group AG, responsible for Human Resources and General Services, and in this function also responsible for the company's art collection, said: "We are delighted to be an integral part of this truly unique exhibition as a direct neighbour and thus to be able to further expand our successful partnership with the Kunstpalast. The artworks are an integral part of our working and living environment. I am sure they will also lead to exciting encounters and discussions between employees and visitors.

For the entire duration of the exhibition, the foyer at ERGO-Platz 2 will be open to visitors to the Kunstpalast from Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00 to 18.00 and on Thursdays from 11.00 to 21.00 (different opening hours on public holidays).

ERGO Group AG has been a long-standing partner of the Kunstpalast, including in the area of interactive art experiences through digitalisation. For example, the two partners jointly developed the innovative Kunstpalast app, which for the first time combines augmented reality (AR) with audio and video tours and a tour in easy language, and also includes the audio guide to the Gerhard Richter exhibition.