Modern and contemporary art collection
The oldest collection of contemporary art in Limburg can be found at SCHUNCK. In line with the characteristics of the city of Heerlen - innovative, enterprising and pioneering - there has been an uninterrupted focus on contemporary art and new talent since the collection was founded in the 1950s.
Dutch painting collection after 1950
Following in the footsteps of Willem Sandberg (director of the Stedelijk Museum from 1945 to 1963) and his policy for the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the municipality of Heerlen, led by mayor Van Grunsven and cabinet secretary Defesche, laid the foundations for the current art collection of SCHUNCK Museum in Heerlen with purchases of paintings by the CoBrA group and like-minded people. In the 1960s and 1970s, painting was overshadowed by the then avant-garde who, convinced that painting was an outdated medium, experimented with alternative media.
In the 1980s, painting experienced a revival. Regulations and conventions regarding subjects, imagery and style fell away. This freedom is also reflected in the way the collection of painting continued to develop in the 1980s and 1990s. It also featured artists from the region. Ten years ago, a catch-up was made towards the continuous, historical lines of the collection. In 2014, it was decided to focus on the youngest generation of Dutch painters with the same momentum.
As with the Aad de Haas collection, the museum does not have space for a permanent display of all the works, but some of the works can be seen with some regularity in one of our presentation rooms, such as the Art Depot. Keep an eye on our calendar for that. Online, however, the works can be viewed in detail.
About the Art Depot
SCHUNCK finds it important that the SCHUNCK collection is not only well preserved, but also visible for the public. Therefore, the new Art Depot was opened in early 2024, accessible from the Glaspaleis. This area not only offers more space for the art collection, but also ensures structural accessibility of the collection to the public. The SCHUNCK collection can be seen in changing thematic presentations in an interactive way. The Art Depot is freely accessible to everyone, making SCHUNCK more and more a museum for the city.