During her 15-year tenure working with the ING’s art collection, Sanne ten Brink (ING Collection Head Curator) has overseen a transformation of ING’s corporate collecting practices. The ING Collection was first established in 1974, with a strong focus on Dutch figurative painting. The contemporary ING Collection has evolved with the changing times and is constantly questioning its relationship to art, to the bank’s employees and society. The collection reflects the international, and figurative history of ING in an innovative and experimental way. It pushes borders and changes mindsets. It stands for quality, experimentation and innovation; it is a reflection of topics and themes that are relevant to ING.
When reflecting on our changing times and art, it is impossible to ignore the impacts of the coronavirus and the increased digitalisation of daily life. The coronavirus pandemic has catalysed at-home creativity and online accessible artworks, highlighting the artistic potential of the digital world! The coronavirus pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown and social-distancing, has resulted in more time at home behind the computer, which has sped up the growth of digital art. We’re at an interesting time were artists and art institutions are figuring out how people will discover and consume art, even physical art, using digital tools. Technology holds the key to the future of the art sector.
“Art reflects society. As a society changes and grows in new ways, art adapts to reflect these new changes. Our society has become increasingly digitalised and contemporary art trends reflects this. The unpresented times we living through have expedited this turn to towards the digital and I believe – stronger than ever – that the future of art is related to digital, which can mean digital art either art that shows us the impact of digitization. My selection of works reflects the ebbs and flows of our ‘new normal.’ A consistent thread throughout these works is a need for adaptation and innovation.”
Portrait Sanne ten Brink by Martin Dijkstra