CURRENT
Ringier Collection 1995 – 2025
Curated by Beatrix Ruf & Wade Guyton
13/04 – 05/10/2025
TEXT
From April 13 to October 5, 2025, the Langen Foundation in Neuss will present an extensive selection of works from the Swiss Ringier Collection, marking its first major exhibition in Germany. Curated by Beatrix Ruf and artist Wade Guyton, the exhibition features approximately 500 works, offering an overview of one of the most relevant collections of contemporary art. Spanning works from the late 1960s to the present day, it documents Michael Ringier’s 30 years as a collector and key developments in the art world.
Titled Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Film, Video, Sound, the exhibition showcases works across nearly all forms of artistic media. Together, these pieces form a rich and layered portrait of Michael Ringier, a Swiss publisher and media entrepreneur, whose collection of art is deeply intertwined with his personal and professional life, as well as the identity of Ringier, a media company active in 19 countries across Europe and Africa.
Ringier’s integration of art into its corporate culture is a defining characteristic of the company. Since 1997, the company has invited international artists to design its annual reports, granting them complete creative freedom. These collaborations have resulted in creative and intelligent explorations of the role of a media publisher today and its engagement with audiences. Renowned artists including Fischli/Weiss, Maurizio Cattelan, and Sylvie Fleury have contributed to these reports, as has Wade Guyton, whose report featured a one-to-one reproduction of one of his paintings printed in high-resolution detail across hundreds of pages. When compiled, these pages recreate the work in its original dimensions.
The exhibition's subversive title highlights how traditional artistic media continues to inspire new interpretations—both by challenging their conventional boundaries and through intentional artistic ambiguity. Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Film, Video, Sound reexamines the expectations surrounding what defines a medium and how it shapes our perception. The connection to a global media company like Ringier is evident: from its beginnings in publishing and printing to its evolution into a digitized and diversified corporation, the company has been shaping the relationship between content and medium for over 190 years. Wade Guyton, too, challenges the concept of the medium of painting—whether through his large-format printed works or the strategic use of digital technologies, he questions what a medium can be and how it shapes the art it conveys.
Through these explorations, the exhibition invites viewers to see the collection not merely as a compilation of works but as a dynamic narrative that constantly opens up new perspectives. This approach reflects Michael Ringier’s view of art as a living, integral part of both his entrepreneurial and cultural engagement.
ARTISTS
Vito Acconci, Kai Althoff, Kai Althoff & Robert Elfgen, John M. Armleder, Ed Atkins, Lutz Bacher, John Baldessari, Iain Baxter, Alighiero Boetti, Kerstin Brätsch, Angela Bulloch, Valentin Carron, Clegg & Guttmann, George Condo, Keren Cytter, René Daniëls, Verne Dawson, de Rijke / de Rooij, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Peter Doig, Trisha Donnelly, Stan Douglas, Lukas Duwenhögger, Marcel Dzama & Raymond Pettibon, Michaela Eichwald, Nicole Eisenman, Jana Euler, Urs Fischer, Peter Fischli, Fischli/Weiss, Sylvie Fleury, Lee Friedlander, Katharina Fritsch, General Idea, Isa Genzken, Liam Gillick, Jack Goldstein, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Douglas Gordon, Rodney Graham, Andreas Gursky, Guyton / Walker, Wade Guyton, Richard Hawkins, Georg Herold, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Jenny Holzer & Lady Pink, Anne Imhof, Cameron Jamie, Larry Johnson, Mike Kelley, Karen Kilimnik, Barbara Kruger, Tetsumi Kudo, Sean Landers, Louise Lawler, Sherrie Levine, Klara Liden, Sarah Lucas, Mathieu Malouf, Helen Marten, Allan McCollum, Lucy McKenzie, John Miller, Mark Morrisroe, Matt Mullican, Cady Noland, Albert Oehlen, Laura Owens, Philippe Parreno, Philippe Parreno & Pierre Huyghe, Manfred Pernice, Raymond Pettibon, Richard Phillips, Jack Pierson, Seth Price, Richard Prince, Nick Relph / Oliver Payne, Ugo Rondinone, Thomas Ruff, Wilhelm Sasnal, Jean-Frédéric Schnyder, Jim Shaw, Steven Shearer, Cindy Sherman, Avery Singer, Andreas Slominski, Josh Smith, Haim Steinbach, Sturtevant, Walter Swennen, Paul Thek, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Rosemarie Trockel, Eugene von Bruenchenhein, Peter Wächtler, Kelley Walker, Rebecca Warren, Franz West, T. J. Wilcox, Christopher Williams, Sue Williams, Jordan Wolfson, Martin Wong, Heimo Zobernig.
PROGRAM
Regular events and guided tours will be organised as part of the exhibition.
The supporting programme includes
Family Sundays
Always take place on the first Sunday of the month. In addition to a guided tour of the exhibition for adults, children and young people up to the age of 12 can explore the exhibition in a playful way with the discovery booklet.
04 May
01 June
06 July
03 August
07 September
05 October
Please book in advance info@langenfoundation.de
Film Screenings
In summer, film and video works from the Ringier Collection will be presented in the outdoor space of the Langen Foundation at special screening evenings. We will send you further information soon. Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive information about the supporting program.
Workshops for children and young people
A discovery booklet for children and young people has been published to accompany the exhibition. You will receive this at the ticket desk when you visit.
School classes are cordially invited to visit the museum. For planning and questions, you can send an email to info@langenfoundation.de.
CURRENT
Ringier Collection 1995 – 2025
Curated by Beatrix Ruf & Wade Guyton
13/04 – 05/10/2025
TEXT
From April 13 to October 5, 2025, the Langen Foundation in Neuss will present an extensive selection of works from the Swiss Ringier Collection, marking its first major exhibition in Germany. Curated by Beatrix Ruf and artist Wade Guyton, the exhibition features approximately 500 works, offering an overview of one of the most relevant collections of contemporary art. Spanning works from the late 1960s to the present day, it documents Michael Ringier’s 30 years as a collector and key developments in the art world.
Titled Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Film, Video, Sound, the exhibition showcases works across nearly all forms of artistic media. Together, these pieces form a rich and layered portrait of Michael Ringier, a Swiss publisher and media entrepreneur, whose collection of art is deeply intertwined with his personal and professional life, as well as the identity of Ringier, a media company active in 19 countries across Europe and Africa.
Ringier’s integration of art into its corporate culture is a defining characteristic of the company. Since 1997, the company has invited international artists to design its annual reports, granting them complete creative freedom. These collaborations have resulted in creative and intelligent explorations of the role of a media publisher today and its engagement with audiences. Renowned artists including Fischli/Weiss, Maurizio Cattelan, and Sylvie Fleury have contributed to these reports, as has Wade Guyton, whose report featured a one-to-one reproduction of one of his paintings printed in high-resolution detail across hundreds of pages. When compiled, these pages recreate the work in its original dimensions.
The exhibition's subversive title highlights how traditional artistic media continues to inspire new interpretations—both by challenging their conventional boundaries and through intentional artistic ambiguity. Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Film, Video, Sound reexamines the expectations surrounding what defines a medium and how it shapes our perception. The connection to a global media company like Ringier is evident: from its beginnings in publishing and printing to its evolution into a digitized and diversified corporation, the company has been shaping the relationship between content and medium for over 190 years. Wade Guyton, too, challenges the concept of the medium of painting—whether through his large-format printed works or the strategic use of digital technologies, he questions what a medium can be and how it shapes the art it conveys.
Through these explorations, the exhibition invites viewers to see the collection not merely as a compilation of works but as a dynamic narrative that constantly opens up new perspectives. This approach reflects Michael Ringier’s view of art as a living, integral part of both his entrepreneurial and cultural engagement.
ARTISTS
Vito Acconci, Kai Althoff, Kai Althoff & Robert Elfgen, John M. Armleder, Ed Atkins, Lutz Bacher, John Baldessari, Iain Baxter, Alighiero Boetti, Kerstin Brätsch, Angela Bulloch, Valentin Carron, Clegg & Guttmann, George Condo, Keren Cytter, René Daniëls, Verne Dawson, de Rijke / de Rooij, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Peter Doig, Trisha Donnelly, Stan Douglas, Lukas Duwenhögger, Marcel Dzama & Raymond Pettibon, Michaela Eichwald, Nicole Eisenman, Jana Euler, Urs Fischer, Peter Fischli, Fischli/Weiss, Sylvie Fleury, Lee Friedlander, Katharina Fritsch, General Idea, Isa Genzken, Liam Gillick, Jack Goldstein, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Douglas Gordon, Rodney Graham, Andreas Gursky, Guyton / Walker, Wade Guyton, Richard Hawkins, Georg Herold, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Jenny Holzer & Lady Pink, Anne Imhof, Cameron Jamie, Larry Johnson, Mike Kelley, Karen Kilimnik, Barbara Kruger, Tetsumi Kudo, Sean Landers, Louise Lawler, Sherrie Levine, Klara Liden, Sarah Lucas, Mathieu Malouf, Helen Marten, Allan McCollum, Lucy McKenzie, John Miller, Mark Morrisroe, Matt Mullican, Cady Noland, Albert Oehlen, Laura Owens, Philippe Parreno, Philippe Parreno & Pierre Huyghe, Manfred Pernice, Raymond Pettibon, Richard Phillips, Jack Pierson, Seth Price, Richard Prince, Nick Relph / Oliver Payne, Ugo Rondinone, Thomas Ruff, Wilhelm Sasnal, Jean-Frédéric Schnyder, Jim Shaw, Steven Shearer, Cindy Sherman, Avery Singer, Andreas Slominski, Josh Smith, Haim Steinbach, Sturtevant, Walter Swennen, Paul Thek, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Rosemarie Trockel, Eugene von Bruenchenhein, Peter Wächtler, Kelley Walker, Rebecca Warren, Franz West, T. J. Wilcox, Christopher Williams, Sue Williams, Jordan Wolfson, Martin Wong, Heimo Zobernig.
PROGRAM
Regular events and guided tours will be organised as part of the exhibition.
The supporting programme includes
Family Sundays
Always take place on the first Sunday of the month. In addition to a guided tour of the exhibition for adults, children and young people up to the age of 12 can explore the exhibition in a playful way with the discovery booklet.
04 May
01 June
06 July
03 August
07 September
05 October
Please book in advance info@langenfoundation.de
Film Screenings
In summer, film and video works from the Ringier Collection will be presented in the outdoor space of the Langen Foundation at special screening evenings. We will send you further information soon. Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive information about the supporting program.
Workshops for children and young people
A discovery booklet for children and young people has been published to accompany the exhibition. You will receive this at the ticket desk when you visit.
School classes are cordially invited to visit the museum. For planning and questions, you can send an email to info@langenfoundation.de.