The renowned UBS Art Collection on view at Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan

MILAN.- UBS presents the first exhibition in Italy featuring works from the renowned UBS Art Collection, one of the world’s largest and most respected corporate contemporary art collections. The works are on view from Friday, March 21 to Sunday, June 21, 2014 in the splendid exhibition space on the first floor of the GAM – Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Milan. The exhibition is the start of a partnership between UBS and GAM that, through various events, will develop and promote one of Milan’s most prestigious cultural institutions.

Curated by Francesco Bonami, YEAR AFTER YEAR. Opere su carta dalla UBS Art Collection (Works on paper from the UBS Art Collection) examines the artistic production on paper through 50 works by 33 acclaimed international artists working from the 1960s to today, including Frank Auerbach, Charles Avery, Georg Baselitz, Troy Brauntuch, Chuck Close, John Currin, Lucian Freud, Robert Gober, Jenny Holzer, Martin Kippenberger, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Longo, Sigmar Polke, Ed Ruscha, Jim Shaw, Cy Twombly and Robin Winters.

Robert Longo, Untitled, 1981. Charcoal and pencil on paper, 243.8 x 152.4 cm © Robert Longo. UBS Art Collection.

Through a singular and focused presentation, YEAR AFTER YEAR. Opere su carta dalla UBS Art Collection examines a medium and a type of work that can open up new aspects and new interpretations. The fragility of paper retains the intimate and delicate nature of the original work, the source of the artistic creation. In the relationship between the lightness of the drawing and the monumentality of the wall, the border of the drawing itself disappears. The exhibition is organized thematically and unfolds along a logical path, resulting in an ideal conversation at multiple levels: between the works, between the works and the artists and between the works and the location.

In addition to making its art collection available for the exhibition YEAR AFTER YEAR. Opere su carta dalla UBS Art Collection, UBS is helping GAM to develop and restore art works and the exhibition space for the permanent collection. The partnership’s objective is to launch a project in support of art and culture in Italy, with UBS promoting an interdisciplinary effort to develop a historic, architectural and artistic gem in the city of Milan.

UBS has a long and sustained history of supporting contemporary art so that it can be shared with clients and the public through the Bank’s dedicated platform, which is made up of global partnerships such as Art Basel and the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, the UBS Art Collection, the UBS Art Competence Center in Switzerland and the UBS Arts Forum.

UBS Italy, which serves private clients in the country, has decided to raise its profile in Milan, and in particular with the Galleria d’Arte Moderna GAM, in order to launch a campaign for culture in the city and an innovative channel for relations with the Bank’s clients, as well as make its collection available to the public.