Sammlung Goetz

The Sammlung Goetz is a private collection of contemporary art located in the Munich district of Oberföhring, Germany. Established by former gallery dealer Ingvild Goetz, it opened to the public in 1992 in a purpose-built museum structure. Rather than pursuing an encyclopedic approach, the collection distinguishes itself through its focus on developing particular artists and presenting their work in carefully conceived thematic exhibitions. The institution occupies a significant position in Germany's contemporary art landscape, combining private collecting with public accessibility through its exhibition program.

Ingvild Goetz assembled the Sammlung Goetz as a private collection beginning with works of contemporary art from the 1960s onward. The collection opened to the public in 1992, and in 1993 it was housed in its current museum building. A notable turning point occurred in September 2013, when Ingvild Goetz donated the museum and the portion of the collection that she held in sole ownership to the Free State of Bavaria. Works in which family members hold co-ownership remain in the museum as permanent loans. The institution has historically organized its holdings into thematic rotating exhibitions rather than maintaining a static display.

The collection's early emphasis lay on Arte Povera from the 1960s, later expanding to include works by young American and British artists. Today it encompasses the full range of contemporary artistic expression: paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, video and film works, multiple projections, and spatial installations. The media art holdings received particular attention through the later creation of a dedicated technical and spatial infrastructure. The collection also maintains a library of approximately six thousand volumes focused on art of the second half of the twentieth century, including artist monographs, exhibition catalogs from major international exhibitions during the last three decades of that century, and files from museums, galleries, and collections alongside selected art periodicals.

The collection has been associated with works by Matthew Barney, Emmanuelle Antille, Yayoi Kusama, Sarah Morris, and Anri Sala, among others. Its historical strength in Arte Povera and subsequent expansion into American and British contemporary art has shaped its acquisition profile. The media art component represents a significant dimension of the holdings, requiring specialized presentation facilities that were later integrated into the museum's physical plant.

The museum building stands at Oberföhringer Straße 103 in Munich's Oberföhring district, set as a freestanding structure within a fenced, park-like grounds. Designed by the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron with Bernhard Behringer and executed by Josef Peter Meier-Scupin, it was completed in 1992 with photographic documentation by Christian Kerez and Franz Wimmer. The sale of works by Cy Twombly contributed to financing the structure. Because building regulations for the residential area restricted footprint and height, the architects inverted the usual spatial hierarchy: the large exhibition hall was placed in the basement, with three smaller galleries above. Both levels feature ceiling heights of 5.5 and 4 meters respectively, finished with untreated plaster. Rather than conventional skylights, bands of frosted glass below the ceiling provide glare-free, even daylight throughout, creating equivalent lighting conditions on both levels. In 2004, the basement was expanded to accommodate the media area "BASE103," designed by Munich architect Wolfgang Brune in consultation with Herzog & de Meuron. This addition, lined with dark felt for complete acoustic and optical isolation, includes a darkened entry sluice, a small film room, a large divisible media room with a walkable installation shaft, and a transitional brighter space, all equipped with pre-installed wall shells and mechanical ventilation with lightly conditioned circulating air.

The Sammlung Goetz is located in Munich's Oberföhring district at Oberföhringer Straße 103. Following the 2013 donation, the museum and part of the collection are owned by the Free State of Bavaria, while family co-owned works remain as permanent loans. The museum is currently closed due to planned renovation work. When open, the collection was accessible by appointment. The institution continues to organize exhibitions along with video and film programs, maintaining its role as a venue for contemporary art presentation in Munich.