For Columbia students pursuing banking internships during the summer, the corporate environment is usually a boring place filled with endless rows of cubicles and identical conference rooms. But as an intern at JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) working in the Private Bank, I had the unique opportunity to view a collection of art that is unusual on the New York scene. According to curator Mark Roe, the gallery at JPMC operates with the goal of “creating a humanizing and dynamic environment” for employees. By maintaining and expanding its collection, JPMC has taken a big step towards introducing the art world to the workplace.
Typically, the phrase “corporate art collection” brings to mind images of watercolor landscapes, dignified portraits, and still life paintings. The vast majority of the pieces in the JPMC Art Collection, though, are less obvious choices. Upon stepping off the elevator and entering the client center, viewers are greeted by a surprising juxtaposition of rich wood paneling and eye-catching, even shocking artwork. This stylistic choice is in line with the department’s mission to “broaden the awareness about contemporary art and take part in building new audiences,” as Roe put it.
But according to the directors of the corporate collection, there is a fine line that separates the thought-provoking from the inappropriate when it comes to choosing pieces for display in this particular setting. On one hand, the collection has a history of purchasing contemporary pieces created by “emerging and under-recognized artists using unique materials, concepts, and techniques,” as Roe explained. On the other hand, the art department's choices are somewhat limited—the curator must avoid offending the bank’s own clients with overly political subject matter.
Despite this challenge, the department’s five-person team has been able to introduce pieces that make subtle statements while still raising important questions about controversial topics. One wall features a video still by the Iranian filmmaker Shirin Neshat entitled Fervor. This striking photograph depicts the strict separation of men and women in Muslim society, raising the political issues of women’s rights and social equality. Another piece appears at first glance to be no more than abstract red and white swirls of paint, but the placard reveals it to be a photograph of human blood, and a thoughtful commentary on the AIDS epidemic.
Of course, the corporate collection aims to do more than shock viewers with political commentary on contemporary issues. It is also home to priceless relics from the bank’s history as a New York City institution, including the pistol from the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, and the desk that resided in John Pierpont Morgan’s personal office. Other pieces highlight the significance of JPMorgan Chase as an integral part of Manhattan’s history, most notably in Jean Dubuffet’s impressive public sculpture Group of Four Trees. Located just outside of Chase Manhattan Plaza, the construction of this large-scale work coincided with the revival of downtown Manhattan in the mid-1980s.
Keep in mind that viewers of the JPMC collection include the art world’s elite—the bank’s ultra high net-worth clients often have their own sizeable art collections and serve as board members of New York art museums. Needless to say, this crowd is not impressed by an average, predictable collection of work by well-known artists. While this fact provides the incentive to keep the gallery fresh and current, it is also unfortunate that the collection is inaccessible to so many people. Individual pieces are sometimes featured in exhibitions or loaned to museums, but your only chance of seeing the art gallery in person is as an employee of JPMC or a bank client.
Just knowing that the JPMC collection exists doesn’t make my cubicle any more glamorous, but seeing it for myself proved that the business world can mix with the art scene with successful results.
