Selected Works from the LINC Collection comprises the second in a series of exhibitions dedicated to corporate and private collecting. This show features a collection of international contemporary art along with a state-of-the-art interactive educational multimedia program. The LINC Group is a Chicago-based healthcare financial services company, founded by collector and CEO Martin Zimmerman, who initiated the company ’s collection of more than 400 international contemporary artworks in 1980. Built from a core group of architectural drawings that reflect a passion for excellence in architecture and the built environment, the collection grew to focus on contemporary conceptual art and the works of artists who examine not only architecture but also other fundamental structures that affect our lives, including our bodies, our language, and our society. Within the LINC Group, the collection works to keep new, creative thinking front and center within the organization. It prompts employees and visitors alike to examine their physical and social environments, their approaches to work and living, and their ever-changing relationships with others. Educational projects, including an interactive multimedia program designed by Y-CORE, encourage dialogue between artists, employees, customers, and the larger community, enhancing the benefits of art in the workplace. The interactive program features hundreds of works by artists in the collection, along with video interviews with artists, and other materials relevant to the collection. The collection and programs at the LINC Group are curated and directed by Nathan Leo Braulick and Lynne Sowder of Y-CORE.

In the United States and Europe, many artists have worked against the separation between art and life, merging aesthetic goals with social awareness in their work. Focusing on this conceptual vein, works in the LINC collection explore a range of issues including identity, gender, sexuality, class, race, culture, community, and history, with the expectation that the art will in turn intrigue and educate the audiences who view and experience it. LINC’s patronage of business and culture is poised between the individual and the corporation, appealing to responses that are both personal and public. By supporting the work of established and emerging artists as well as those who are dedicated to the analysis of the establishment, the collection provides an unexpected showcase for art that stimulates the intellect at the same time that it excites and delights the eye. This exhibition is intended to illustrate some of the significant contributions of these artists, in a collection that constitutes a growing resource for our appreciation and understanding of the vitality of contemporary art.

John Currie, Jeanne Dunning, Seiichi Furuya, Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky, Barbara Kruger, Tracey Moffatt, Yasumasa Morimura, Catherine Opie, Richard Prince, Lorna Simpson, Thomas Struth, Tony Tasset, and Joel-Peter Witkin.

Selected Works from the LINC Collection is made possible by the School of Art and Design, the College of Architecture and the Arts, and supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Our gratitude and appreciation go to Martin Zimmerman, whose commitment to contemporary art and exceptional corporate collection have made this exhibition possible, and to Nathan Leo Braulick and Lynne Sowder for their assistance with the development and preparation of this exhibition.