Carl-Juergen Schroth: I have developed a kind of sense of mission for my art

Exhibition view "ENERGY", Centre for International Light Art, Unna CDCE Works by: Bosse Sudenburg, Spencer Finchand Jan Van Munster

Carl-Jürgen Schroth: "I have developed a kind of sense of mission for "my" art."

Many entrepreneurs have the opportunity to amass a large art collection. As patrons, they are an important part of the art world, otherwise some artists would not be able to work at all. It becomes significant when they share their collections with the public or even open museums. This is what happened recently with the Schroth Collection. As part of the double exhibition ENERGY | ENERGIE, works from the collection will be presented at the Centre for International Light Art in Unna and in the Schroth Room at the Wilhelm Morgner Museum in Soest.

The industrial engineer and product designer Carl-Jürgen Schroth is the former owner of Schroth Safety Products GmbH. Both parents were entrepreneurs and founded a traditional company in Arnsberg, which was the world's largest manufacturer of braces belts until the 1980s. In 1991, the company entered the aviation market and today supplies the aerospace industry and even NASA and SpaceX.

Carl-Jürgen Schroth began building up an art collection back in the 1980s. He focused on artists who build on the principles of concrete art, work with scientific and mathematical analyses or deal with light, space and perception. To make the works accessible to the public, the Raum Schroth opened in 2016 at the Wilhelm Morgner Museum in Soest. The collection now comprises around 700 works of concrete and post-minimal art by over 100 international artists, including Yves Klein, Vera Molnar and Aurelie Nemours. From the German art scene, Imi Knoebel, Hartmut Böhm, Leo Erb, Ivo Ringe, Günter Umberg, Lore Bert and Ulrich Rückriem are among those represented. His collection is described in the media as one of the 256 leading private collections worldwide and is listed in the BMW Art Guide. Carl-Jürgen Schroth had his Raum Schroth secured by the Conceptual Art Foundation. This is intended to secure the exhibition activities in the long term, also as a legacy. In the interview, we also learn why Carl-Jürgen Schroth began collecting light art. For him, this art movement is emotional and positive; it does not allow for gloomy colours and depressing subjects. However, it is also particularly important to the collector that art collections should be made accessible to the public.

The double exhibition ENERGY | ENERGIE can be seen from 25.11.23 to 25.02.24 at the Centre for International Light Art in Unna and at RAUM SCHROTH in the Wilhelm Morgner Museum in Soest.

16. December 2023

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ART

Name: Carl-Jürgen Schroth

Occupation: Industrial engineer, product designer, entrepreneur, art collector

"The building of my collection is also based on my heart."

What role do you think art plays?

Art is an integral part of our cultural existence and life. It can stimulate reflection, provoke new ways of looking at things, encourage an intellectual dialogue with what we see and also with our personal social environment. Anthropologists interpret the 40,000-year-old cave paintings in southern France as the oldest evidence of art and therefore also of the emergence of culture. I assume that art and culture cannot be separated from each other. It follows that art is also part of our cultural heritage.

Did you build up your art collection from the heart or did you seek external advice?

Prof Thomas Deecke, founder of the Weserburg Collectors' Museum in Bremen, wrote me the following in a letter: "What I appreciate about you is that you don't buy art after hearing it, but after seeing it."

Following this correct realisation, the building of my collection is also based on my heart. I have built up my collection with both an art-historical and a targeted background. Purchasing decisions are often made with a view to having different groups of works by an artist on display, as well as having additional works available to complement existing collection items for future art education. My collecting activities have always been independent of external advisors. Of course, in addition to fairs, art associations and other exhibition venues, the galleries, which are essential for the art market, help me to find new positions, for which I am grateful.

Museum Wilhelm Morgner with RAUM SCHROTH, Brainwave by Jan van Munster

Annette Sauermann, Grüner Lichtturm, CDNN Concrete, acrylic glass and black light, Sammlung Schroth

"There are episodes to tell about many of the works in the Sammlung Schroth: from buying in instalments to tears in my eyes with emotion."

What fascinates you about light art?

Light art is an emotionally positive art. It does not allow gloomy colours or depressing subjects. At the same time, it is almost always associated with a clear formal language. It can be purely graceful, but it can also make statements that stimulate discussion. This in turn is achieved through light, colour, graphic representation, written elements, on and off. It is often expansive, both in museums and in public spaces. It must fascinate, inspire.

Your collection includes works by Yves Klein, Vera Molnar, Imi Knoebel and Aurelie Nemours. You probably can't name a favourite, but which art purchase or episode has stuck in your mind in particular?

The first purchase of a minimalist, constructive work in 1990, a steel object by Heiner Thiel from his group of works at the time, is particularly noteworthy. The impression I gained at Art Frankfurt turned my passion for collecting towards concrete, minimalist and conceptual art. This work is regarded as a key object for the creation of my collection in general, as it was the first time that I bought works by Heiner Thiel beyond the purely decorative aspect. The almost 70 works by the artist that I now own are eloquent testimony to this. Incidentally, there are episodes to tell about many of the works in the Sammlung Schroth: from buying in instalments to tears in my eyes with emotion.

I read that you also collect motorbikes?

I had a phase during which I didn't sell any of my motorbikes. But that was a long time ago. I currently have "only" 3 motorbikes in my collection, 1 of which is for sale. I concentrate on art, although I do go on my art trips by motorbike whenever possible.

What message would you like to leave behind with your Schroth room?

In addition to the opportunity to show, see and enjoy art acquired from the collection according to different aspects in RAUM SCHROTH, I have developed a kind of sense of mission for "my" art through years of presentation work. The sponsorship of the RAUM SCHROTH by the Foundation for Conceptual Art is intended to secure the exhibition activities in the long term, and later also as a legacy. But perhaps it will also encourage other collectors who have been quietly active to make their collections accessible to the public. I started with open days in my home and external exhibitions at various locations. This led to the desire for a permanent exhibition venue. I wonder if one or the other will imitate me? I would be delighted. Good luck!