Alexander Schmidheiny

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In the foreground Thomas Ammann and Alexander Schmidheiny, 1983

Alexander Schmidheiny (born March 25, 1951 in Balgach ; † February 2, 1992 ) was an entrepreneur and collector of contemporary art. In 1993 his brother Stephan Schmidheiny established the "Alexander Schmidheiny Foundation" in his memory.

biography

Alexander Schmidheiny was the son of Max Schmidheiny (1908–1991) and Adda Schmidheiny-Scherrer († 1997) as well as the brother of Adda Marietta Schmidheiny (1944–2011), Thomas Schmidheiny (* 1945) and Stephan Schmidheiny (* 1947). He grew up in Heerbrugg in the canton of St. Gallen and, like his siblings, attended the Trogen canton school .

Father Max Schmidheiny would also have liked to see his youngest son Alex as an entrepreneur. Supported by his mother Adda, however, he chose a different path: After studying physics, philosophy and economics for a few semesters, he completed a stage as a journalist at the Handelszeitung .

In the early 1980s he found his calling in art. Together with his childhood friend, the art dealer Thomas Ammann , he began to build up a collection of modern art. Over the years, the two managed to acquire significant groups of works by leading artists of the second half of the 20th century, above all Andy Warhol , Cy Twombly , Brice Marden , Robert Ryman , and Sigmar Polke .

After the death of Alexander Schmidheiny in 1992 and Thomas Ammann in 1993, Alexander's brother Stephan Schmidheiny took over the collection and handed it over to the newly created Daros Collection. Daros Collection has been working closely with the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen since 2010 . Individual groups of works are integrated into their collection hangings.

At the same time, Alexander Schmidheiny was involved in developing and expanding the "Cuvaison" winery, which the Schmidheiny family had acquired in the Napa Valley , California, in the late 1970s . At Alexander's request, Andy Warhol created labels for Cuvaison wines in the early 1980s. After his death, the winery was passed on to his brother Thomas Schmidheiny.

In 1982 Alexander Schmidheiny took over Toko AG, a company that was in financial difficulties and manufactured ski wax. This secured 90 jobs in the Rhine Valley. Despite various attempts at strategic realignment, the company remained a problem child under the aegis of Schmidheiny. After the death of Alexander Schmidheiny, the company was taken over by Conzzetta Holding in 1993.

Alexander Schmidheiny died of heart failure in 1992 at the age of 41.

Alexander Schmidheiny Foundation

The "Alexander Schmidheiny Foundation", based in Balgach, was founded in 1993 by Stephan Schmidheiny in memory of his brother Alexander, who died young. It supports and promotes initiatives in the fields of culture, education, social affairs and the environment. It focuses its activities on the home of the Schmidheiny family, the St. Gallen Rhine Valley and neighboring regions.

See also

literature

  • Hans O Staub: From Schmidheiny to Schmidheiny. In: Swiss pioneers in business and technology . Volume 61. Association for Economic History Studies, 1994, ISBN 978-3-909059-07-2 , pp. 191–194
  • Peter Fischer (Ed.): In the power of painting. Scalo, Zurich 2000, ISBN 978-3-908247-27-2 .
  • Peter Fischer (Ed.): Abstraction, gesture, ecriture: paintings from the Daros collection. Scalo, Zurich 1999, ISBN 978-3-908247-99-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter von Rotz: Heerbrugg Castle - History - Schmidheiny. In: www.hydroelectra.ch. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Alexander Schmidheiny's curriculum vitae. In: alexanderschmidheinystiftung.ch. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Mention of Alexander Schmidheiny in. In: Catalog of the German National Library. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Bernhard Schulz: Show me your pictures. In Switzerland, the number of private museums is increasing . In: Der Tagesspiegel . January 17, 2003 ( online ).
  5. ↑ History - German. In: daros.ch. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  6. ^ The Thomas Ammann Fine Art gallery in Zurich: artist and collector friendships . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . June 16, 2003, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed December 21, 2016]).
  7. ↑ The Daros Collection in the Fondation Beyeler. (PDF) Press release from May 27, 2010. In: www.fondationbeyeler.ch. Retrieved March 19, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Daros exhibitions. In: www.daros.ch. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Cuvaison. In: www.cuvaison.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Hugh Johnson, Steven Brook: The Great Johnson: The Encyclopedia of Wines, Regions, and Winemakers of the World . Gräfe and Unzer, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8338-3158-4 ( google.ch [accessed December 21, 2016]).
  11. ↑ Cuvaison Brings Original and Exclusive Andy Warhol Artwork to Napa Winery | Business Wire. In: www.businesswire.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Martin Kilchmann: Thomas Schmidheiny: From cement to wine baron - Falstaff . ( falstaff.ch [accessed on December 21, 2016]).
  13. ↑ History | TOKO Wax & Care. In: toko.ch. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  14. ↑ Commercial Register of the Canton of St. Gallen. In: sg.powernet.ch. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  15. ^ Website of the Alexander Schmidheiny Foundation. In: alexanderschmidheinystiftung.ch. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Schmidheiny, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss art collector and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Balgach
DATE OF DEATH 2nd February 1992