The Abstract Icons Collection is founded on 166 paintings by Otto Ritschl, which he regarded as prime examples of his creative path and artistic conviction. This initial collection, which Ritschl referred to as “my path to painting,” was assembled by the artist himself and documents his artistic development.
Since 1992, the Museum Association Ritschl, in close cooperation with Museum Wiesbaden, has supplement this core collection by purchasing the works of renowned artists, such as Mark Rothko, Ad Reinhardt and Günter Fruhtrunk, as well as Otto Ritschl Prize winners Ulrich Erben, Kazuo Katase and Katharina Grosse, whose artistic production is of a kindred spirit to Ritschl’s own. Works by Wolff Mirus, Otto Ritschl’s long-time pupil and friend, have also been acquired for the collection.
On the basis of a contractual agreement, the collection has been put on permanent loan to Museum Wiesbaden, which is to exhibit parts of the collection to the public on a rotating basis. The collection is continually expanded through further acquisition.
A detailed description and visual documentation of the collection can be found in the volume “Sammlung Abstrakte Ikonen” (ISBN 978-3-89258-116-1) published in 2017.