Océ Art Foundation

The Océ Art Foundations' aim is twofold: to adorn the buildings of Océ and to contribute to the development of young artists through acquisitions and other kinds of support. The foundation focuses on artists who question their discipline and boldly explore the boundaries of it.

Artpolicy
This focus on the leading edge in contemporary art (particularly painting), relates to the research driven character of Océ. The company has always felt very strongly about the latest technological requirements and developed itself along this line.
The Océ Art Foundation has been collecting works of art from an international range of artists, although with a slight preference for artists from the region. The collection of almost 800 works is on show in both public areas and individual office spaces of several locations in Venlo. In the main sales office in Den Bosch a semi-permanent exhibition is composed.

History
Around 1970 occasionally Océ buys works of art to embellish the offices. With every new building works of art were acquired. Moreover, in the eighties Océ commissions some monumental works of art in its buildings, following the advice of a temporary art committee. This opens up a new perspective on collecting: the content of a work of art becomes more important as well as it's connection to the company and it's culture. In 1990 the Board of Directors decides to assign the collection to the Océ Art foundation. The foundation is created to collect new works of art and is in charge of its conservation on an annually allowed budget. Since 2006 a curator is taking care of these tasks.
Initially Océ bought mainly editions from local artists. In 1990, with the installing of the Océ Art Foundation, a policy is formulated to focus on young artists from all over the world that search for a new perspective on contemporary painting. The research driven character of Océ - present in a strong  R&D department - is consciously reflected in it's art collection.