Helge Achenbach

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Helge Achenbach (born April 17, 1952 in Weidenau , Siegen district ) is a Düsseldorf- based German art consultant who was convicted of fraud.

Origin, studies, professional activities and private matters

Helge Achenbach was born in Weidenau (Siegen district) as the son of Federal Railway Officer Walter Achenbach and his wife Gerda. When he was 14 years old, the family moved to Düsseldorf. During his studies of social pedagogy at the University of Düsseldorf he was AStA chairman and member of the Socialist University Association . After studying and a one-year internship in the prison Siegburg Achenbach opened in 1973, first with his Willicher colleague Dietmar Löhrl own gallery in a room above the bookstore Nauhaus in Düsseldorf Bismarckstraße 68. They showed, among other works on paper of the Zero artists . In 1975 he became managing director of the Düsseldorf branch of the Junior-Galerie , a gallery chain formed by the Goslar building elements manufacturer Peter Schenning. In the exhibition rooms of the junior gallery in the late baroque Palais Orangeriestraße 6 , Achenbach also showed Heinz Mack and solo exhibitions by the artists Robin Page , Karl Fred Dahmen , Friedensreich Hundertwasser , Bernhard Krug , Rainer Tappeser and Sigi Zahn .

Career as an art consultant (from 1978)

In 1978 he established himself as an “Art Consultant”. Since then he has advised numerous commercial companies on building up their collections and has built up a number of private art collections. During documenta IX , together with gallery owners Max Hetzler and Anthony d'Offay , he placed the monumental sculpture Puppy by Jeff Koons in front of the Arolsen Palace . Achenbach became president of the Fortuna Düsseldorf soccer club for five years in 1997 , and gave up the post in 2000. He could only stop the decline of the club for a short time. Under his successors, the club rose in 2002 to the fourth division. In 2001 Achenbach entered the restaurant business with “Monkey's Island”. In 2007 the restaurants "Monkey's West", "Monkey's East" and "Monkey's South" followed on Graf-Adolf-Platz, which Achenbach opened on his 55th birthday. Already in 2012 "Monkey's Club" (opened in 2004) had to be closed after alleged financial turmoil. “It was a plus-minus business. But we don't count the club business as one of the core competencies of the Monkey's brand, ”said Achenbach at the time. Helge Achenbach was also managing director and co-owner of the private (art) “Rheingold Collection” from 2002 to 2014. As part of the fraud allegations, he resigned as managing director on July 8, 2014, his share of the assets in the collection was blocked by the public prosecutor.

Achenbach Art Consulting

In 1977 Achenbach founded an "Büro für Art Consulting" together with the architect Horst Kimmerich. The first order was for the artistic furnishing of the Klöcknerhaus in Duisburg , newly built by the Düsseldorf architects HPP , which had a volume of 600,000 DM. A year later the partnership with Kimmerich broke up, Achenbach founded Achenbach Art Consulting as a commercial art consultancy in Düsseldorf. In 1992, Achenbach opened a new company headquarters on Kaiserswerther Markt in Kaiserswerth , designed by the architect Rudolf Küppers, with 2000 m² of office space. In the same year he closed his gallery branch in Frankfurt am Main , which he had operated in the former administration building of D. Stempel AG in Hedderichstrasse, because he had "[...] not sold a single picture in three years". In 1997 he opened new exhibition rooms (Kaistraße, Medienhafen Düsseldorf ) with a retrospective by Jörg Immendorff , which were closed again after a short period of activity.

The aim of Achenbach Kunstberatung GmbH was, according to its own information, to set up and further develop art collections in the private, economic and public sectors as well as to develop special art projects. The collection concepts should be based on the self-image of the respective companies. In the course of this mediation work, Achenbach worked with artists such as Thomas Struth , Gerhard Richter , Andreas Gursky , Thomas Schütte , Dan Flavin , Stephan Balkenhol , Ernst Hesse , Daniel Buren , Sol LeWitt , Bernd and Hilla Becher , Beat Streuli , Tony Cragg , Frank Stella , Joseph Kosuth , Gerhard Merz and James Turrell together. In addition to art concepts for business customers and the company's own collections, private art collections were also looked after, including Berthold Albrecht's art collection .

In 2012, Achenbach designed an art fund called “Berenberg Art Advice GmbH” that was marketed by Berenberg Bank . The "Berenberg Art Capital Fund Ltd." had a planned volume of 50 million euros. The know-how of Berenberg Art Advice was supplemented by a joint venture agreement with The Fine Art Fund Group Ltd., which has been active in the field of art investments for many years. (London) to accompany the due diligence process before purchasing the works of art. As a co-advisor on the investment committee, she should support the management of the fund and coordinate insurance, transport, storage and restoration.

At the beginning of July 2013 the shareholders of "Berenberg Art Advice GmbH", the Berenberg Bank, Helge Achenbach and Stefan Horsthemke , decided to go their separate ways and dissolve the company. The marketing of the art fund "Berenberg Art Capital Fund Ltd.", which had not yet gone into business, was discontinued.

The companies “State of the Art”, the parent company of “Monkey's” and “Achenbach Kunstberatung GmbH”, which belong among others to the Achenbach Group, filed for insolvency at the Düsseldorf District Court on August 7, 2014. Board member Benjamin Achenbach (regional chairman of The Young Entrepreneurs - BJU Niederrhein) stated that "after examination and legal advice it has now been established that the companies are insolvent". The Düsseldorf District Court appointed the lawyer Marc d'Avoine as the preliminary insolvency administrator .

Fraud allegations, civil and criminal litigation

In 2012, Achenbach was reported by Jörg Immendorff's widow in the dispute over the sales fee for Immendorff's monkey sculptures.

In 2011, the Hamburg-based private bank Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG and Achenbach founded the art consultancy Berenberg Art Advice , which wanted to address wealthy families and collector dynasties. In mid-2013, the company was dissolved due to disagreements among the shareholders. The background was a brokerage deal with the pharmaceutical entrepreneur Christian Boehringer .

Since June 11, 2014, Achenbach was in the custody of the prison food after Babette Albrecht (daughter of Aldi -Nord founder Theo Albrecht ) it had reported in connection with the sale of works of art and vintage cars for fraud by "hidden surcharges". Achenbach sold works of art and vintage cars worth around 120 million euros to Babette Albrecht's husband ( Berthold Albrecht ), who died in 2012 . Overall, according to media reports, damage of around 60 million euros should have occurred. Babette Albrecht filed a civil action for damages worth almost 20 million euros with the Düsseldorf Regional Court. The lawsuit was directed against Achenbach and its two companies, Achenbach Kunstberatung and State of the Art . Achenbach's lawyers described the allegations as "completely absurd". On August 21, 2014, the Handelsblatt reported that the former Allkauf co-owner Bernd Viehof had filed a criminal complaint. Accordingly, it should be about one or more works by Georg Baselitz that were mediated by Achenbach. The extent of the alleged damage should be between 1.5 and 2.5 million euros. A complaint from Achenbach's lawyers was rejected by the Essen District Court on July 24, 2014 because of the urgent suspicion and the risk of escape and blackout. On November 11, 2014, the 6th Civil Chamber at the Düsseldorf Regional Court began the trial against Achenbach.

With a judgment of January 20, 2015, the 6th Civil Chamber of the Düsseldorf Regional Court sentenced Achenbach to pay damages in the amount of 19,360,760.70 euros to the five heirs of Berthold Albrecht. The court saw it as proven that Achenbach unjustifiably charged a surcharge equal to the convicted sum instead of the agreed commission, without informing Albrecht. In the opinion of the Chamber, no economically insightful person and certainly no entrepreneur like Berthold Albrecht would have accepted such an opaque pricing.

The criminal trial against Achenbach with charges of fraud , forgery and breach of trust began on December 9, 2014 before the large criminal chamber of the Essen district court . After Achenbach's confession, he was sentenced to six years in prison on March 16, 2015, among other things for fraud in 18 cases.

According to his wife, Achenbach gave courses in art history during his time in custody and later worked in the open prison at the Diakonie in Düsseldorf.

Achenbach was released on probation at the beginning of June 2018 on the basis of a ruling by the Kleve Regional Court after serving two thirds of his prison sentence. In the legal dispute regarding claims for damages by the Albrecht heirs, it was decided that Achenbach would have to pay 16.1 million euros in damages. His two villas in Düsseldorf were seized and sold, and his wife divorced him.

After his release, Achenbach drew attention to himself with an exhibition of his own works: From September 7, 2018, his pictures were shown under the motto "Back in Black" in the "Bespoke Gallery" in Düsseldorf. In 2019 he published his memoirs in the Riva publishing house in Munich .

Projects

  • 1986: Gerhard Richter - Ergo Versicherungsgruppe AG, Düsseldorf: Gerhard Richter created his paintings Victoria I and Victoria II for Ergo Versicherungsgruppe AG, formerly Victoria Versicherung, in Düsseldorf .
  • 1987: Keith Haring - BBDO, Düsseldorf: In the mid-80s, the artist Keith Haring sprayed his picture on a 3 × 7 m canvas.
  • 1990: Sol LeWitt, Gerhard Richter, Oswald Mathias Ungers - Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank , Düsseldorf: With works by Oswald Mathias Ungers, Sol LeWitt and Gerhard Richter
  • 1992: Jeff Koons - Residenzschloss, Bad Arolsen: On the initiative of Achenbach and the gallery owners Max Hetzler and Anthony D'Òffay, Jeff Koons designed a twelve meter high dog made of flowers.
  • 1997: Jeff Koons - Guggenheim Museum , Bilbao: Outdoor sculpture in front of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
  • 2000: Juan Muñoz and Andreas Gursky - Allianz AG : Juan Muñoz created 22 bronze figures for an inner courtyard and arranged them into a “conversation piece”, a symbol for interaction and communication. Andreas Gursky designed a 15 m long underground connecting passage with various photo works.
  • 2001 Rheingold Collection: On the initiative of Achenbach, six collectors, Achenbach, Walter Droege ( Droege International Group ) and the brothers Eugen, Michael, Klaus and Bernd Viehof, came together in 2001 to invest in contemporary art. The Rheingold Collection intends to buy mainly art from the Rhineland.
  • 2002: Albertinum Dresden: Two months after the great Elbe flood had flooded the Albertinum in Dresden , Helge Achenbach initiated an auction for 45 well-known artists - including Gerhard Richter, Andreas Gursky, Jörg Immendorff, Thomas Schütte, Georg Baselitz, Imi Knoebel and Katharina Sieverding - donated works. The auction for the renovation and expansion of the Albertinum raised a total of 3.4 million euros.
  • 2011: MoMA - Volkswagen: In May 2011, a partnership initiated by Achenbach between Volkswagen AG and the Museum of Modern Art ( MoMA ) in New York was announced.

Fonts

  • From Saul to Paul: art and architecture advice . Lindinger and Schmid, Regensburg 1995, ISBN 978-3-929970-20-3 .
  • The art instigator. From gathering and hunting . Autobiography. Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2013, ISBN 978-3-7757-3676-3 .
  • Self-destruction. Confessions of an Art Dealer. premium riva, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-374-2311-49-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A mirror that the artist holds up to the company Die Welt, May 25, 2011, accessed on June 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ Lucas Elmenhorst: A finale without Fortuna . In: Handelsblatt , June 27, 2014, pp. 64–65.
  3. ↑ Düsseldorf District Court HRB 49275
  4. ↑ Stephan Wappner: "Aldi" family indicates art consultants . In: WAZ , June 26, 2014, p. WVM1.
  5. ↑ Anne Kohlik: Berenberg Art Fund is liquidated - the end of an experiment . In FAZ , July 12, 2013.
  6. ^ Case Helge Achenbach - Justice looks at art shops of Berenberg Bank RP-Online, July 9, 2014.
  7. ↑ Aldi family brings art dealers to jail Handelsblatt, June 25, 2014, accessed on June 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Dpa: Second complaint against art advisor Achenbach received, Handelsblatt, August 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Achenbach sentenced to payment of damages in the amount of 19,360,760.79 euros to Albrecht ( Memento of January 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Press release of the Düsseldorf Regional Court of January 20, 2015 (PDF)
  10. ↑ Million deals with art and vintage cars WDR.de, December 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Imprisonment for art advisor Achenbach , Frankfurter Allgemeine Feuilleton, March 16, 2015.
  12. ↑ Achenbach gives art history course in DIE ZEIT prison on December 4, 2015 (accessed on May 16, 2018)
  13. ↑ https://www.handelsblatt.com/arts_und_style/kunstmarkt/nach-vier-jahren-haft-kunstbetrueger-helge-achenbach-ist-aus-dem-gefaengnis-entlaß/22648544.html?ticket=ST-2670306-GFGpyca7BN1ULGE0vvpj -ap5
  14. ↑ Convicted art consultant Achenbach comes out of custody prematurely , Spon from May 15, 2018 (accessed on May 16, 2018)
  15. ↑ Millions of fraudsters Achenbach has to pay Aldi heirs less compensation
  16. ↑ SWR1 BW, SWR1 BW: SWR1 people by date. Retrieved April 22, 2020 .
  17. ↑ In prison he became a painter: Düsseldorfer Galerie shows pictures by Helge Achenbach , Kölner Express from August 21, 2018
  18. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): More than an art fraud: Helge Achenbach's life story | DW | October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019 (German).
  19. ↑ On the Rheingold Collection see also: Andreas Rossmann : Rheingold in Not? Interview with Eugen Viehof. In: FAZ, 23 August 2014, p. 11.
  20. ↑ judge return to Dresden World Online, June 20 of 2010.
  21. ^ Dresden Albertinum reopened ( Memento of December 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Art, June 21, 2010.
  22. ^ New York art scene at Achenbach Rheinische Post online, May 25, 2011.
personal data
SURNAME Achenbach, Helge
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German art consultant
DATE OF BIRTH April 17, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Weidenau , district of Siegen