Art Vontobel
Photography as a mirror of the present
Promoting art and integrating it into our everyday lives is a part of our corporate culture. We collect contemporary art, with the focus on contemporary photographic and photography-based works, which we display on our premises, and support young artists by helping them realize new projects.
Art Vontobel focuses on new perspectives, while building an important bridge to the past: With a passion for art, Dr. Hans Vontobel (1916-2016) founded the Arts Commission in the 1970s. While our collecting strategy refocused in 2015, this enthusiasm and philanthropic approach have shaped our commitment ever since, with the collection’s purpose—then and now—being the promotion of a young generation of artists.
Conceived as a mirror of our time, the photographic medium allows us to directly reflect upon currently relevant topics: Centered around the presentation of humanity and our actions in the present, the works that Art Vontobel collects revolve around key questions, such as: what do our societies look like today, how have they evolved, and what topics concern us at present? How is individuality addressed today, how has the “image” of a person changed in the last 20 years, and what influence do globalisation or digitalization have on us as people as well as a collective society? Moreover: What actions do people take and how do these shape our future or affect our planet?
By building a young and internationally focused collection, Art Vontobel represents our corporate culture and endeavors: foresighted, reflecting diversity and human centric. This intention is further emphasized by our biannual sponsorship award for emerging talent, A New Gaze, founded in 2017. Furthermore, our key incentive is to create an inspiring environment and encourage dialogue— internally and beyond.
Art Vontobel Team
Georgina Casparis | Curator Art Vontobel |
Urs Stahel | Advisor to Art Vontobel |
Members of the Vontobel Arts Commission
Andreas Utermann | President Board of Directors, Chairman of the Vontobel Art Commission |
Maria-Antonella Bino | General Counsel |
Peter Dietlmaier | Head Corporate Communications |
Thomas Heinzl | CFO |
Francesco Tarabini Castellani | Head Clients EMEA Vontobel Asset Management |
Christian Schilz | Head Corporate Responsibility |
Jean-Pierre Stillhart | Head Vontobel Wealth Management DCH |
Georgina Casparis | Art Vontobel Head & Curator |
Urs Stahel | Advisor to Art Vontobel |
With the establishment of the Art Vontobel Collection in the 1970s the Arts Commission too was founded. Comprising of art enthusiasts among Vontobel’s employees, Head Curator of Art Vontobel, Georgina Casparis, and the external expert Urs Stahel, photography expert and Curator of MAST—Manifattura di Arti, Sperimentazione e Tecnologia—in Bologna, the Art Vontobel Commission continues to be directly involved in the decision-making process in continually acquiring new pieces for the Collection.
Our commitment to art is an expression of our social responsibility overall. We firmly believe that art and culture are important, even indispensable, agents of a functioning society, which allow the development of experimentation with many practical and theoretical approaches to producing art. We want to support these creative methods of thinking and producing. It is art that affords us a new perspective as observers, that challenges us, or simply delights us. Works of art enrich daily life, enable dialogue decoupled from the day-to-day working routine: a change of perspective. By exhibiting and collecting works of art, we wish to create an inspiring environment with long-lasting value for our employees and our customers.