The collection combines five very different areas: contemporary art since the 1960s, ancient and contemporary art from the Orient to the Far East, art from ancient Egypt, vessels from 5,000 years of cultural history, and classical and contemporary photography.
The contemporary art in the collection comprises works by more than 300 artists. More than a third of Ernst Hermanns’ complete works, including his hall-sized «Düsseldorfer Raum», are among them. Ulrich Rückriem is represented with numerous works. Space-filling works or groups of works are contributed by, among others: Ai Weiwei (CN), Song Dong (CN), Ulrich Erben (DE), Norbert Frensch (DE), Hamish Fulton (UK), Hayato Goto (JP), Nikolaus Koliusis (AT), Richard Long (UK), Blinky Palermo (DE), Gerlinde Beck (DE), Erwin Wortelkamp (DE).
In the series of works from ancient China, a monumental, 90 cm high marble head of Buddha from the Northern Qi dynasty (550-577 CE) literally stands out. Other heads and statues in stone or terracotta date from around the same time (386-907 CE). The Collection attaches great importance to the fact that funerary sculptures communicate something of the original context.
Separate sections are devoted to statues and reliefs from Gandhāra (Afghanistan/Pakistan, 1st-4th c.), Ayutthaya (Thailand, 17th-18th c.) and the Khmer (Cambodia), as well as 19th century artefacts (screens, ceramics, scroll paintings) from Japan.
