Joining a Deutsche Bank art tour

‘Turning the World Upside Down III’ (1996) by Anish Kapoor

Now that Deutsche Numis is part of Deutsche Bank, our teams have access to a wide range of new opportunities, both professionally and personally. My parents are both artists and with a childhood spent largely being dragged around London’s modern art galleries, it was perhaps inevitable that I would develop a love of contemporary art. So I was genuinely excited to be able to attend one of Deutsche Bank’s art tours at its UK headquarters, 21 Moorfields.

Deutsche Bank's global Art & Culture division concentrates, cross-links and develops Deutsche Bank's activities. For more than 40 years, the bank has offered clients, employees and the general public access to contemporary art through its proprietary collection, international exhibitions and educational programmes.

The art tours are run frequently, and are open to Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Numis teams, as well as interested members of the public. The tour begins in the foyer, with the awe-inspiring Anish Kapoor polished steel sculpture, ‘Turning the World Upside Down III’, welcoming visitors to the bank – we discovered that a wall had to be removed and the floor reinforced to enable hosting this artwork on site!

Either Mary Findlay, Senior Art Curator in Deutsche Bank’s Art & Culture team, or her colleague, Eleanor Palfrey, UK Curator, conduct the tours and share details of the artworks on display in this area, such as ‘The Liminality Triptych’ by Ghanaian artist, John Akomfrah. These images present as paintings, but are actually carefully staged photographs.

 ‘The Liminality Triptych’ (2016) by John Akomfrah

We then headed upstairs to view the art on the working and dining floors, some of which, such as the dreamlike Claire Hooper wallpaper, had been especially created for the space. The quality and quantity of art at every floor level was impressive, with many well-known names, such as Rachel Whiteread or Damien Hirst, sharing wall space with stunning new work from up-and-coming artists. Mary talked knowledgeably to each piece, sharing interesting details about the artists’ thought processes and intentions, as well as about the curation and installation processes.

‘Valium’ (2000) by Damien Hirst

There was far too much artwork to take in over a single tour, and I would be very keen to go on another one in the near future.

If you would like to find out more about the Deutsche Bank art collection, see art.db.com