Occupying Space.

Under the title Occupying Space, the Generali Foundation Collection is being shown at important European galleries and museums. The collection will be introduced to a wide audience with this large-scale international exhibition tour. The first venue, the Haus der Kunst in Munich, in March 2005, was followed by Nederlands fotomuseum, TENT. and Witte de With in Rotterdam, and subsequently, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb.

The exhibition, while offering an overview of the international collection, is not laid out as a general "show"; instead, it establishes cross references between the various artists and works. The dialogic presentation likewise reflects the concept upon which this private collection has been compiled.

For more than fifteen years, and mainly since the opening of the exhibition house in Vienna’s fourth district in 1995, the Generali Foundation has distinguished itself with a clear and competent program. An extraordinary collection comprising approximately 1,700 works from 170 artists has been formed parallel and in interaction with the exhibition program. Key works by pioneering Austrian artists form the core of the collection. These in part quite radical positions within Austrian art juxtapose works by international artists. Concept and performance art as well as media and socio-critical works from the 1960s and 1970s join with works from later generations. A great number of works have been exhibited as loans at art institutions and museums throughout the world. Recent purchases include ever more major works by eastern and central European artists. A comprehensive collection catalogue was published in 2003.

Financed exclusively by private funding, the collection focuses on art movements and works that are often defined as "unwieldy" or "difficult." For many, this equally ambitious and consistent collection presents a surprise – because behind it, what they find is an insurance company.

Stations and dates of the exhibition tour:
Munich, Germany: Haus der Kunst
9 March to 15 May 2005
Rotterdam, Netherlands: Nederlands fotomuseum, TENT., Witte de With
All three institutions simultaneously, 3 July to 28 August 2005
Zagreb, Croatia: Museum of Contemporary Art/Gallery Klovicevi dvori
28 October to 9 December 2005.