Collection | Collector
COLLECTION | COLLECTOR
Alongside our program of current exhibitions is the collection which, presented in our 60 m long exhibition hall, is the heart of the museum. Over one hundred and sixty sliding walls are regularly rearranged to give an insight into the Angerlehner Museum's versatile collection.
From A for Anziger to Z for Zitko, an arc stretches over the central representatives of Austrian painting from 1950 onwards, supplemented by numerous international positions. The collection, which consists of over 2,500 works includes not only paintings but also prints, sculptures and photographs. In his more than 30 years as a collector, KR Heinz J. Angerlehner didn't limit himself to a strict concept of 'what art should be'. So in addition to the major focal points of the "Neue Wilden" or the young, figurative painters that you might expect, his passion for the most diverse manifestations of contemporary art shines through and is here to be experienced.
THE COLLECTION
More than 30 years of passion for collecting contemporary art form the basis of the Angerlehner collection. The main focus of this extensive collection is paintings from the 1950's onwards supplemented by drawings, photographs and sculptures. With a conscious commitment to Angerlehner's own region, the collection is especially focused on work by Upper Austrian artists. The numerous works of the Angerlehner Collection were all selected on the basis of personal enthusiasm. Rather than being focused on a strict set of conceptual requirements, the collection is dominated by rich variety. National and international art positions provide complementary artistic positions, creating an exciting artistic field full of tension and challenges.
On 12 September 2013 Austria gained a new private museum of contemporary art: ever since the exclusively privately financed Museum Angerlehner in Thalheim near Wels has presented itself to the public over an area of some 4,500 square metres.
"In this new collector’s museum bearing my name I have made my passion for art generally accessible to an interested public. The opening of the museum is the fulfilment of a great dream for me. From the very beginning, a top quality museum building, an attractive exhibition programme and versatile events facilities have made the Museum Angerlehner a cultural meeting place in central Upper Austria as well as an established factor in the art and museum scene of Austria.
My long-standing passion for collecting has been further intensified by the opening of the museum. No one who is infected with the collection virus is ever free of it again. When purchasing works of art, potential increases in value were never paramount for me, but rather the joy of involvement with art works and of promoting artists. I am therefore particularly pleased that younger artists are meanwhile on the ascendancy on the Austrian art scene thanks to exhibitions in my museum.To date 53 exhibitions of Austrian and international art have been shown in the Museum Angerlehner, accompanied by a broad educational programme. I have thus been able to privately promote exhibition activities and the public educational mandate.
As the Director of the museum, I am fully focussed on current projects, as the founder of the museum, however, I also see the necessity of taking strategic decisions for the museum with a long-term perspective."
Heinz J. Angerlehner, founder of the museum
THE COLLECTOR
- Heinz Josef Angerlehner was born in 1943 in Wels, Austria.
- He was a senior executive in various engineering and industrial companies.
- In 1980 he founded his own company, the FERRO-Montagetechnik (FMT), which he managed with great success for almost three decades.
- For his merits Kommerzialrat Heinz J. Angerlehner received numerous awards, such as:
- Goldene Verdienstzeichen from the county of Upper Austria
- Große Goldene Verdienstzeichen of the Republic of Austria
- In 2007, having relinquished operational management of his company, KR Heinz J. Angerlehner devoted himself increasingly to his passion for art.
- 2009 saw the acquisition of the FMT property, with an office and warehouse complex. This was also the year the Angerlehner Museums- GmbH was founded in Thalheim, Austria.
- The museum was built and opened in 2013.
