The privilege of collecting

Directly below the legendary Drachenfels on the Rhine, a large area with a villa and neighbouring park full of high-quality works of art will surprise you. There are large installations alongside small formats such as a sepia drawing by Joseph Beuys from the Honey Collectors series. Collector Andra Lauffs-Wegner explains that she received the drawing, which was created in 1956, as a gift from her father for her 21st birthday. Her father initially forgot the date and then offered her two options: A joint trip to the jeweller to buy the pearl necklace she had been longing for, or a work from her parents' graphics cabinet. The decision was not difficult for the young woman. She was already a big fan of Beuys at this point, whom she had also met in person over a glass of wine at Kunstkompass founder Willi Bongard's house.

Andra Lauffs-Wegner is therefore not the first in her family with a particular fondness for art. Her parents Helga and Walther Lauffs, who enjoyed entrepreneurial success with Rabenhorst fruit juices, built up a high-calibre collection of modern art in the mid-1960s, supported by the legendary Krefeld museum director Paul Wember. From an early age, the daughter accompanied them to art fairs and galleries and soon developed the desire to buy art herself: ‘I always thought to myself, if art gives you such a positive feeling, I should get involved in this profession myself’. For her father's sake, she initially studied business administration, later adding art history.

She wrote her thesis on the subject of ‘Modern art as a capital investment’. An unusual topic in the 1970s, as the connection between art and capital was considered somewhat frowned upon at the time. A lot has changed since then: ‘I would like to write this work again. It would be exciting to revisit the topic from today's perspective, as the market has changed a lot.’ In general, Andra Lauffs-Wegner observes that collections have become more streamlined and that less is collected according to individual taste. The collector describes her work on several committees as formative for her, especially the jury discussions and studio visits as part of the awarding of the ars viva prize by the BDI. Such encounters give rise to a deeper understanding of artistic practice.

She came across the exhibition rooms at Drachenfels in Bad Honnef by chance ten years ago. During a walk with her dog, she noticed the renovation work on ‘Haus Hedwig’, which had previously been used as a military hospital and later as a maternity convalescent home. She was immediately impressed by the premises. Although it had never been her plan to exhibit the collection publicly, the rooms gave her new freedom of choice: ‘I was now completely free in terms of dimensions. That had a lasting impact on the quality of the collection,’ she summarises. Her collection now comprises around 300 works by 95 international artists. The focus is on contemporary photography, sculpture and installations. However, there is hardly any painting in the collection. In the current anniversary exhibition ‘Old and new friends. From Refik Anadol to David Zink Yi‘ (until 18 March 2025), painting is nevertheless present, as Andra Lauffs-Wegner combines works from her collection with pieces from her parents’ former collection.

Apart from the current show, the collector curates all of the exhibitions on the striking, untreated walls herself. She usually juxtaposes two artistic positions of the same medium in dialogue, such as Thomas Schütte and Andreas Schmitten. Even though the current exhibition provides a representative overview of the collection, it remains true to the principle of dialogue by juxtaposing contemporary positions with those from the 1960s and 1970s. The juxtaposition creates exciting references when an NFT by Refik Anadol hangs next to a monochrome blue painting by Yves Klein, Andy Warhol is combined with Katharina Grosse or Pablo Picasso enters into a dialogue with Franz Erhard Walther. Lauffs-Wegner sees her private museum KAT_A (Kunst am Turm, Andra) and the other Rhenish collections less as competition to public museums, but rather as an enrichment for the entire art scene. Furthermore, there is no competition between the private museums, as each collection is different in terms of style and concept. Instead of fixed opening hours, Lauffs-Wegner relies on digital registration and organises all guided tours herself. A privilege, as she sees it: ‘I've been doing this for ten years now and consider it a real stroke of luck that I can not only buy art, but also curate and communicate it.’

Consequently, Lauffs-Wegner does not seek advice regarding her collection: ‘I have been approached several times and have always declined. A different view of art may sometimes be good, but I want to decide for myself.’ She usually makes her purchases on the spur of the moment; it is only afterwards that she takes a closer look at the respective item. As an example, she cites a large installation by Katja Novitskova, which she discovered in an old palazzo during the Venice Biennale and exhibited at KAT_A together with Jose Dávila. She also remembers very well the first work of art she acquired herself, the ‘Sleeping Woman’ by George Segal (1970), which she bought when she was a student. Strictly speaking, however, this sculpture is not the cornerstone of her collection, as she received a collage about American history by Robert Rauschenberg as a gift from her father at the age of 15.

Today, Lauffs-Wegner mostly makes her purchases in galleries, for example from Buchholz, Zwirner or von Rosen. She appreciates their strong commitment and personal contact: She appreciates their strong commitment and personal contact: ‘I have always enjoyed buying from galleries in order to support their important function. And of course ART COLOGNE is an important date in her diary, ‘not only because the fair takes place here locally. I would also travel from further afield and usually buy something there too.’