Christian Schwarm Collection: In the Office with Peter Piller

Peter Piller

The collection of Christian Schwarm does not rely on big names. What interests the owner of the Dorten communication agency, both professionally and as a collector, is a delight in unconventional thinking and the broader horizons that inevitably results from it. Schwarm’s enthusiasm for art was first awakened when he was in his mid-twenties, and in 2005 he felt the urge to live with art. His first purchases included works by Peter Piller and Fiona Banner. Works by younger artists followed, including Nina Canell, David Horvitz, Jonathan Monk and Michael E. Smith. In keeping with his preference for frequent changes of perspective, Schwarm prefers not to collect in depth – good individual works act as windows offering him a constant view of the oeuvre of artists that interest him personally, he says. To promote an international dialogue with like-minded individuals, Schwarm and friends in 2008 established the online platform Independent Collectors, on which over four thousand collectors have since become active.