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 Up to 300 of them - scratched, torn or punctured works by
well-known artists including Gerhard Richter, Christo and
Giorgio de Chirico - are stored in an AXA warehouse near the
western German city of Cologne.
One of the world's biggest art insurers, AXA receives claims
every year for damage to paintings, sculptures and drawings.
Some 80 percent of them can be restored.
The rest, which either cannot be or are to expensive to be
repaired come to this warehouse.
"We store artworks, objects and collectors items by notable
artists for which we have compensated our customers, we take
ownership of them and keep them for the future," said Kai
Kuklinski, head of AXA Art Insurance.
"The main goal is to keep this art as it is too much of a pity
to throw it away," he said.
AXA gives some pieces, which include paintings, collectors items
and antiquities, to research projects. Some are auctioned for
charity and others kept, in case they can be repaired later,
once restoration techniques have improved.
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"Otherwise, we keep things for many many years, up to decades, in
our warehouse," said Kuklinksi.
Works in the Cologne warehouse include a damaged offset print of
Christo's "Wrapped Reichstag".
Another is "Black Red Gold", a painting by Gerhard Richter which was
damaged because of the way it was hung.
One of the most unusual items is a painting by Giorgio de Chirico
which was almost destroyed when a wrecking ball from next door
ripped through it as it hung on the wall of a house.
(Reporting by Thilo Schmuelgen and Petra Wischgoll; Writing by
Madeline Chambers; Editing by Peter Graff)
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