Collection

The development of the museum’s collection began with the construction of Marta Herford, which opened in 2005. With striking works, it primarily reflects the diverse exhibition program. Numerous site-specific installations have been permanently acquired for the Marta collection.

Holdings

The Marta collection includes around 500 predominantly large-format works of contemporary art by approximately 170 artists. It contains outstanding works that also address issues of design and architecture – in accordance with the museum’s program and the original idea of Marta Herford as a “house of furniture” (in the heart of the furniture industry). A defining component is many space-related works that enter into a special relationship with the Gehry building, such as Panamarenko’s Papaver, Cai Guo-Qiang’s Flying Carpet, Silke Schatz’s Hellwacher Tagtraum, Reinhard Mucha’s Halver. Das Brot der frühen Jahre, Asta Gröting’s Die Schwimmerin, or Atelier Van Lieshout’s Mini Feeder. The Marta collection exemplifies the now over twenty-year exhibition history with a wide range of works. In recent years, numerous significant positions have been added, including works by Nevin Aladağ, Lena Henke, Rodney McMillian, Katja Novitskova, Kaari Upson, and Erik van Lieshout. The collection works have been kept in a newly built depot building on the museum grounds since 2011.

Presentation

The collection serves as a fund of artistic, cultural, and social issues, from which new ideas can be drawn for the present. Individual collection works have been presented in changing exhibitions on various themes and with constantly new fields of experience. At irregular intervals, the Marta collection is made accessible to the public in sometimes unusual exhibition formats: Sammlung Marta Herford (2006), Hellwach gegenwärtig (2009), Kraftwerk Depot / Frisch ausgepackt (2011/12), Fragen wagen (2014), Paarweise (2015/16), Marta Maps (2022), Perspektiven einer Sammlung (2022) as well as recently Interieur als Idee (2025) and Neue und alte Bekannte (2025). Online, selected works from the Marta collection are now gradually being made visible.

Expansion

We make it our mission to preserve artistic debates and attitudes that are groundbreaking for society, to constantly question them anew, and to place them in a current context. Regular purchases, often from ongoing exhibitions, continuously expand the diversity of the living collection. Since Kathleen Rahn became director of Marta, the focus has been on significantly supplementing important positions in the Marta collection with further works – also with a special focus on the less represented female artists. From the beginning, acquisitions for the museum and accessions in the form of permanent loans (from the Marta Friends’ Circle) have been realized with the support of the Marta Freunde und Förderer e.V. In recent times, significant new acquisitions have also been made possible through the support of foundations. Occasional high-quality donations from private individuals or gifts (including from artists) also contribute to the steady expansion of the collection.