FRANKFURT.- Thanks to a generous permanent loan from the Adolf-Luther-Stiftung, ten outstanding works of the European post-war avant-garde now have a new home in the collection of Frankfurt’s Städel Museum. In addition to four pieces by ZERO artist Adolf Luther, this superb group also encompasses historically significant examples by Arman, Lucio Fontana, Ad Reinhardt, Dieter Roth and Günther Uecker. With this permanent loan, the Krefeld-based foundation is making Frankfurt the second mainstay of its holdings. The works have already been placed on view in the Garden Halls and the Städel Garden within the framework of the contemporary art collection’s new presentation.

“We are delighted with the Adolf-Luther-Stiftung’s decision to place such central works – for example one of Ad Reinhardt’s last Abstract Paintings (1961) or Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale (1949) – at the Städel’s disposal on a permanent basis. Following our joint realization of the show ‘Adolf Luther: Architecture as Light and Reflection’ in the Städel Garden in the summer of 2013, for the museum this represents an ideal continuation of our good collaboration”, commented Städel Museum director Max Hollein.

The workgroup integrates smoothly into the museum’s contemporary art collection and represents a lasting enhancement to the Städel holdings: two superb Accumulations dating from 1968 by the French artist Arman – a chief exponent of the Nouveaux Réalistes –, Lucio Fontana’s 1949 Concetto spaziale, the Abstract Painting of 1961 by Ad Reinhardt, Günther Uecker’s large-scale Le trou du cœur executed in 1960, and the four works by Adolf Luther – among them a kinetic mirror object and an egg relief – enrich the Städel Museum’s collection of contemporary art particularly with regard to ZERO and its artistic environment.

“These major works of the European post-war avant-garde from the Adolf-Luther-Stiftung can now be placed on permanent display within the context of the Städel collection. There they will open up a new perspective on the multifarious artistic production of the period. On the one hand, the loans form a striking contrast to the works in the Städel collection; on the other hand they also complement those works in a fascinating manner”, observed Martin Engler, head of the Städel Museum’s contemporary art department.

Established in 1989 by Adolf Luther (1912–1990), the Adolf-Luther-Stiftung promotes and supports Concrete art, while at the same time devoting its efforts to the preservation of Luther’s works and his collection. The foundation’s holdings encompass works of the Düsseldorf ZERO group and the Nouveaux Réalistes, as well as pieces by Joseph Beuys, Antoni Tàpies and Mario Merz. Geometric Abstract works of the 1920s and ’30s, including examples by Theo van Doesburg, El Lissitzky and Kasimir Malevich, constitute another focus of the collection.

“The appreciation shown the oeuvre and collection of Adolf Luther by the prestigious Städel Museum is a source of great pleasure for us”, noted Magdalena Broska, scholarly director of the Adolf-Luther-Stiftung.

A number of major large-scale installations of the 1970s and ’80s by the light artist Luther have been on view in the Städel Garden since June 2013 within the framework of the presentation “Adolf Luther: Architecture as Light and Reflection”. One of them, Integration Stehlinsen (“Integration Standing Lenses”; 1990) is among the four works by Luther included in the permanent loan from the Adolf-Luther-Stiftung.

List of artists: Arman, Lucio Fontana, Adolf Luther, Ad Reinhardt, Dieter Roth, Günther Uecker