--- type: exposition title: The Ploner Collection language: en url: "https://www.belvedere.at/en/ploner-collection" --- # The Ploner Collection ![Colour foil on Alucore, aluminum frame 150 x 230 cm ](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/header_cropped_1920x480_fp/public/jart-images/_439886225305.jpg.webp?itok=RUcy8rXg) **Duration:** 8 July 2015 - 27 September 2015 *“To me collecting is an adventure and experience that goes way beyond discovery and possession. Crucial factors are understanding the artworks and artists and a fascination for the total individuality of the artist personality.”* (Heinz Ploner) In summer 2015, the Belvedere is showing a representative selection from the Ploner collection, the majority of which has been donated to the museum. The collector Dr. Heinz Ploner (born 1952 in Upper Austria) amassed an outstanding presentation of contemporary Austrian art within a short time. He started exploring this field and seriously collecting in 1997, following a successful career in business. Initially he approached art from a purely intuitive and emotional perspective; his first purchases arose from many friendly contacts with artists and visits to their studios. In fact, his collecting was sparked off by a visit to Josef Mikl, when Ploner was looking for a picture for his living room. From that point on, he never ceased to be fascinated by abstract painting. He then started to concentrate on what is known as New Painting in Austria. The large groups of work by Herbert Brandl, Gunter Damisch, Hubert Scheibl, and Otto Zitko, together with Erwin Bohatsch’s lyrical abstract images, form the focus of the collection, revealing how important representatives of Austrian abstract painting and international trailblazers interpret this field in different ways. He then expanded his collecting practices to incorporate multimedia and Conceptual contemporary art. Brigitte Kowanz, Adrian Schiess, Erwin Wurm, Lois Renner, and Markus Huemer are just some of the names that deserve a mention in this regard. ## Impressions - ![Oil on canvas 220 x 320 cm — Herbert Brandl, Untitled, 1997 — Donation of the Ploner Collection, Photo: © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225303.jpg.webp?itok=TihZbDqB) - ![C-print on aluminum 180 x 300 cm — Lois Renner, ACADEMIA (Outside), 2003 — Donation of the Ploner Collection, Photo: © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225304.jpg.webp?itok=0klGJ52l) - ![Neon sign 129 x 189 x 9 cm — Brigitte Kowanz, Change, 2008 — Donation of the Ploner Collection, © Bildrecht, Vienna, 2015, Photo: © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225297.jpg.webp?itok=1pgCgGYH) - ![Oil, synthetic resin on canvas 200 x 300 cm — Erwin Bohatsch, Untitled, 2007 — Donation of the Ploner Collection, Photo: © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225292.jpg.webp?itok=nMZnXlI_) - ![Oil on Canvas 190 x 140 cm — Hubert Scheibl, Pardes, 2004 — Donation of the Ploner Collection, Photo: © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225287.jpg.webp?itok=aTBeSBXm) - ![Selbstverständlich Malerei! — Exhibition view "Painting! What Else? The Ploner Collection" — Photo: Eva Würdinger, © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225301.jpg.webp?itok=hn02yqTK) - ![Selbstverständlich Malerei! — Exhibition view "Painting! What Else? The Ploner Collection" — Photo: Eva Würdinger, © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225306.jpg.webp?itok=0hyl3cji) - ![Selbstverständlich Malerei! — Exhibition view "Painting! What Else? The Ploner Collection" — Photo: Eva Würdinger, © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225294.jpg.webp?itok=uTb7jYcx) - ![Selbstverständlich Malerei! — Exhibition view "Painting! What Else? The Ploner Collection" — Photo: Eva Würdinger, © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_439886225289.jpg.webp?itok=9_idlJl5) - ![Oil on canvas 198 x 150 cm — Josef Mikl, Der blaue Schreitende, 1992 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_448999149652.jpg.webp?itok=UEwXn3ON) - ![Oil on canvas 220 x 320 cm — Herbert Brandl, Untitled, 1997 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_448999149653.jpg.webp?itok=58WpLUvn) - ![photo — Adrian Schiess, Papierarbeiten–Installation, 1995–2000 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_448999149651.jpg.webp?itok=eZv8hjQv) - ![photo — Brigitte Kowanz, Change, 2008 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_448999149650.jpg.webp?itok=Jk655qK1) - ![Oil on canvas 175 x 180 cm — Maja Vukoje, Untitled, 2005 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_448999149654.jpg.webp?itok=pYVcfDk3) - ![C-Print on Aluminum 180 x 300 cm — Lois Renner, ACCADEMIA (Außen), 2003 — © Belvedere, Vienna](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/jart-images/_448999149655.jpg.webp?itok=9-fe93KU)