We want to buy tomorrow's Basquiat

Stefan Vilsmeier founded today's Brainlab AG at the age of 21 with the vision 'I want to improve the status quo in cancer therapy'. For more than 35 years, the global company with 2,400 employees at 25 locations has stood for innovation in digital medical technology - with the aim of actively shaping the healthcare system of the future.

Stefan Vilsmeier and Sergio Linhares collect contemporary works from the African diaspora, African-American and Afro-Brazilian art. Alongside stars such as Tomás Saraceno of Arthur Java, the two passionate collectors are particularly interested in artists who deal with socially relevant issues such as feminism, structural violence or migration: Art that makes you think and takes you out of your comfort zone.

This is also a concern of gallery owner Dietlinde Behncke. Curator Renate Wiehager writes about the current exhibition (see Reader): Three overarching themes link the individual positions: Reintegration of nature and culture into perspectives of human action - Postcolonial issues: the female gaze and the body - Contemporary forms of spirituality'.

VOICES FROM ABROAD
09 November 2024 - 19 February 2025
Mbali Dhlamini (*1990 ZA), Nnenna Okore (*1975 AUS/NGR), Buhlebezwe Siwani (*1987 ZA)
**Curated by Dr Renate Wiehager (Head of the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection until 2023) **

Dietlinde Behncke talks to Stefan Vilsmeier about his statement "We want to buy the Basquiat of tomorrow" (Monopol, 18 April 2024) and asks him "What does Basquiat have to do with Brainlab AG?