On 10 August 2015, after a detailed planning phase and intensive creation process, the time had finally come for plan.d. to unveil their paintings at the Kocarek GmbH offices. The artwork from thirteen artists from Düsseldorf comes in various designs and contains elements of photography, painting, graphic design and collage.
In 1998, ten master students of the famous Kunstakademie Düsseldorf joined forces with a few self-taught artists to found the artists’ cooperative Künstlervereinigung Produzentengalerie e.V. The headquarters of plan.d. is now located in Düsseldorf-Flingern, and has a gallery with a total area of 150 m². Four rooms are available here for exhibitions and projects – the exhibition space also includes what is known as the “Catacomb”. Exhibitions are organised multiple times per year, covering all styles of contemporary fine arts. The exhibition typically changes every four weeks, in close cooperation with artists from other cities and countries. Exhibitions have already been displayed this year with artists from Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden and, during the Days of Jewish Culture in the Ruhr Area, from Israel. The special feature of this artists’ cooperative is that its concept is based on the idea of exchange and cooperation, and that the focus is therefore on the dialogue with artists and guests. This is because networking is more important to them than successful sales. Alongside the commercial gallery scene, plan.d. thus also wants to offer a free exhibition space for interesting and unusual art projects. The cooperative therefore sees itself as a hub and multiplier for young abstract to figurative art.
After the company relocated its headquarters from Heinickestraße to Kronprinzenstraße 5-7, a lot of effort was put into replacing the previously dull and seemingly small offices with an attractive and spacious office space. So from the very beginning, a lot of thought was put into how the office space was allocated and arranged. Whilst there were many reasons for moving into a more modern office building, the overriding reasons were the technological, communicative and spatial limitations at our previous location. The project management and translation departments as well as the managing director’s office were previously spread across three floors. Now, the project management and translation departments are on the same floor, merely divided by the hallway. And so, work can be carried out more flexibly, communication has become much easier and due to the larger offices, employees have a bit more “breathing space”.
Thus, a lot of importance was attached to the allocation and layout of the office space from the start. For this reason, different plants and matching pots were placed in all rooms shortly after relocating, to make the offices more appealing to the employees whilst also keeping in mind the look and feel of the individual office rooms. Decorating the rooms with pictures was next on the agenda for this year. After all, pictures also convey a language that can be translated, and – similar to translating texts – this requires plenty of expert knowledge. And so, translation and art were linked up in no time at all.
The Produzentengalerie e. V. plan.d. in Düsseldorf was chosen to provide the artwork for this project. plan.d. is a non-commercial collaborative association of artists which currently has thirteen members and is predominately financed by membership contributions, sponsors and Düsseldorf’s cultural office. Although Produzentengalerie e.V. plan.d. and Kocarek GmbH stumbled across each other by chance, both sides were on the same page right from the start. The very diverse artists, all completely different yet similar, form the perfect symbiosis together.
This symbolism of individuality and oneness can also be seen at Kocarek GmbH: two departments with two different specialisations work together as one. Each employee contributes unique talents yet fits perfectly into the group. And so, the office rooms have different picture combinations with no picture being the same. Most importantly, the pictures help employees enjoy their work and also stand for the appreciation of the employees’ work. They are part of the company after all and contribute a huge part to its success. This is reflected in every room at Kocarek GmbH.
To add to this, the abstract artwork can help the employees overcome stressful situations and mental blocks. If an employee needs some time to think or is confronted with a complex problem, they can simply take a moment to lean back in their chair and look at one of the pictures and come back with a fresh perspective.
Room 1
“es haben sich doch viele immer redlich bemüht” von Christian Psyk
Room 2
“Farbtagebuch” von Maria Lentzen
“Farben des Tages” von Maria Lentzen
Room 3
“Blindhaed 5” von Sonja Tintelnot
“Uni Ost” von Heike Ludewig
Room 4
“Hemden des Tages” von Ludger Heinisch
“Oberbilker Allee, Ecke Corneliusstraße” von Andrea Isa
Room 5
“übersetzbar?” von Simone Schroff
Room 6
“Textur I” von Angelika Eggert
“Textur II und III” von Angelika Eggert
Room 7
“Gewürmmaschine Nr. 2” von Peter Clouth
“Gewürmmaschine Nr. 7” von Peter Clouth
Room 8
“in memoriam mare nostrum oder ein schiff wird über-setzen” von Jyrg Munter
“Hemden des Tages” von Ludger Heinisch
Room 9
“My Korean Colours” von Utta Hagen
“Uni Ost” von Heike Ludewig
Room 10
“Hemden des Tages” von Ludger Heinisch
There are so many reasons why Kocarek GmbH decided to have artwork from the group of artists plan.d. in their offices: on the one hand, the artwork reflects the complexity of a translation company whilst making the office rooms more attractive. On the other hand, Kocarek GmbH offers the regional artists a platform to present their work to its clients.
The artwork is only a further step towards making the workplace more attractive and increasing the well-being of the employees. Since relocating to the new offices, a relaxation room is also available which can even be used for power napping, true to the motto: “a happy employee is a good employee.”
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