Arman (1928–2005)
Albers, Josef (1888–1976)
Antes, Horst (*1936)
Berke, Hubert (1908–1979)
Birolli, Renato (1905–1959)
Chamberlain, John (1927–2011)
Chillida, Eduardo (1924–2002)
Chu, Teh-Chun (1920–2014)
Cragg, Tony (*1949)
Dahmen, Karl Fred (1917–1981)
de Kooning, Willem (1904–1997)
de la Villeglé, Jacques (1926–2022)
de Staël, Nicolas (1914–1955)
Diebenkorn, Richard (1922–1993)
Dufrêne, Franҫois (1930–1982)
Dzubas, Friedel (1915–1994)
Fautrier, Jean (1898–1964)
Fontana, Lucio (1899–1968)
Francis, Sam (1923–1994)
Frankenthaler, Helen (1928–2011)
Geiger, Rupprecht (1908–2009)
Gottlieb, Adolph (1903–1974)
Götz, Karl Otto (1914–2017)
Graubner, Gotthard (1930–2013)
Greis, Otto (1913–2001)
Grosse, Katharina (*1961)
Hains, Raymond (1926–2005)
Hantaï, Simon (1922–2008)
Hartung, Hans (1904–1989)
Hofmann, Hans (1880–1966)
Iida, Yoshikuni (1923-2006)
Imaï, Toshimitsu (1928–2002)
Kirkeby, Per (1938–2018)
Krasner, Lee (1908–1984)
Kreutz, Heinz (1923–2016)
Kricke, Norbert (1922–1984)
Louis, Morris (1912–1962)
Mack, Heinz (*1931)
Marden, Brice (*1938)
Mathieu, Georges (1921–2012)
Matschinsky-Denninghoff, Brigitte (1923–2011)
Moreni, Mattia (1920–1999)
Motherwell, Robert (1915–1991)
Nasaka, Yuko (*1938)
Nay, Ernst Wilhelm (1902–1968)
Noland, Kenneth (1924–2010)
Piene, Otto (1928–2014)
Platschek, Hans (1923–2000)
Pollock, Jackson (1912–1956)
Tal R (*1967)
Rauschenberg, Robert (1925–2008)
Reigl, Judit (1923–2020)
Richter, Gerhard (*1932)
Riopelle, Jean-Paul (1923–2002)
Rondinone, Ugo (*1964)
Santomaso, Giuseppe (1907–1990)
Scheibitz, Thomas (*1968)
Schultze, Bernard (1915–2005)
Schumacher, Emil (1912–1999)
Shimamoto, Shōzō (1928–2013)
Shinoda, Tōkō (1913–2021)
Shiraga, Kazuo (1924–2008)
Soulages, Pierre (1919–2022)
Stamos, Theodoros (1922–1997)
Stella, Frank (*1936)
Sumi, Yasuo (1925–2015)
Tanaka, Atsuko (1932–2005)
Thieler, Fred (1916–1999)
Tillmans, Wolfgang (*1968)
Uecker, Günther (*1930)
Vedova, Emilio (1919–2006)
Vicente, Esteban (1903–2001)
Winter, Fritz (1905–1976)
Yoshihara, Jirō (1905–1972)
Yūichi, Inoue (1916–1985)
Wols (1913–1951)
The collection of Wiesbaden entrepreneur Reinhard Ernst has a rare and clear profile: it comprises exclusively abstract art. His interest in paintings and sculptures grew during numerous business trips to Europe, Asia and the USA. Reinhard Ernst’s passion for colour has been been the driver in his 30 years of collecting. As a result, the mre is one of the few museums in the world exclusively dedicated to abstract art. Many of the artists in the Reinhard Ernst Collection are among the most important of the 20th and 21st centuries. They have had a decisive influence on the central trends of abstraction.
The focus is on abstract European post-war art, abstract Japanese art and American Abstract Expressionism. Numerous artist groups, such as ‘junger westen’, ‘Zen 49’ or ‘ZERO’ from Germany, but also European groups such as ‘El Paso’ and ‘Gruppo degli Otto’, are represented in the collection. Japanese post-war art is represented by the ‘Gutai Group’, founded in Osaka in 1954, which includes artists such as Shōzō Shimamoto, Kazuo Shiraga, Atsuko Tanaka and Jirō Yoshihara.
The third focus of the collection is Abstract Expressionism in the USA. The so-called ‘New York School’ was characterised by Hans Hofmann, among others, who emigrated from Germany to the USA in 1932. One of his students was Helen Frankenthaler: the Museum Reinhard Ernst is lucky to boast having the world’s largest private collection of works by this international top artist.
The chronological range extends from 1945 to the present day: works by Georg Baselitz, André Butzer, Katharina Grosse, Damien Hirst, Imi Knoebel, Markus Lüpertz, Sarah Morris, Neo Rauch, Gerhard Richter, Frank Stella and Wolfgang Tillmans complete the collection. To continue the collection into contemporary abstract art is a particular concern of Reinhard Ernst. The collection now comprises over 900 works (as of June 2023).
Before the collection could move into the museum, its new home, there were numerous preparations to be made. A new art storage facility and a restoration studio were being built at the mre. The biggest task was planning a move of around 900 works. To this end, the condition of each individual work of art had been expertly examined over the past few months, the individual transport requirements determined and discussed with an art shipping company. Subsequently, all paintings, sculptures and photographs were prepared for their move to Wiesbaden.
The focus of the restoration department at the Museum Reinhard Ernst is on conservation. This means maintaining the condition of the works – not only during transport to the new museum, but also in the long term in the exhibitions and in the art storage. Smaller measures include dusting, applying a back protector or strengthening the layers of paint. During transport, we pay special attention to correct packaging, careful documentation and supervision of handling.
Once in the museum, so-called preventive conservation were important for the preservation of the works. This included regular checks of the constant room climate, minimisation of harmful UV rays, correct storage of the art objects as well as regular checks for pests.
Conservators are a great asset to museums. Their field combines scientific and practical work. This also includes interdisciplinary exchange with all departments of our museum. For information on complex (painting) techniques, a wide variety of materials and the diverse processes of artistic creation, especially in Modern and Contemporary Art, it is often not the specialist literature but the restoration department the decisive source.
