The Standard Chartered art collection
Our world in pictures
Our art collection reflects who we are – a dynamic, uniquely diverse international bank with a long history
About our collection
Our corporate art collection consists of some 650 portraits, all of which are on display on the walls of our offices. We source our works from affordable art fairs, commercial galleries, portraiture competitions, and on the suggestion of colleagues.
Seen as a whole, our collection showcases the resilience and dynamism of people in the communities where we live and work. Bringing people, communities and businesses together through art and artistry.
(Top of the page) Lu Xi ©, A Beautiful Day at the Seaside, 2010
About our collection
The Art Connect
The Standard Chartered art collection is a celebration of humanity. With a focus on people, it represents our colleagues, clients and communities and the connections that form between them. As a physical representation of our unique diversity our vibrant collection of portraits can be seen across our office footprint in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
Step into our premises and look around, and you might spot a schoolboy at the start of his day, a couple attending a horse race in the rain, a mother with her children, or a bearded man playing his violin with delight.
These are just a handful of the many faces to be found along the corridors of our buildings around the world, brightening our office spaces and meeting rooms, and reminding us of who we are.
Featured works: a reflection of the value we place in people
Much like our business, our art collection is constantly evolving, whether through acquiring news works, relocating works between markets or updating our principles we aim to embody our global connections through our portraits.
Seen in over 30 of our offices our art collection is a constant reminder to staff of the value we place in people. This dedication extends to the value we place in the artists of works in our collection and the communities they live and work in.
Curated pieces in our Asia office
Ludovico della Rocca ©, La Moga, 2006
Curated pieces in our Africa offices
Curated pieces in our Europe and Americas offices
Curated pieces in our Middle East offices
The many faces of Standard Chartered
We pride ourselves on our unique diversity of markets, clients and colleagues — our art collection brings our identity to life through its many subjects and styles.
At Standard Chartered, we believe everyone should be able to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution. We’re a talented and committed workforce of more than 85,000 colleagues, representing 131 nationalities across more than 53 markets in which we operate.
This unique diversity is also reflected in our art collection, with portraits by more than 300 artists.
Ronel Kellerman ©
African Woman, 2012
“This painting proposed a challenge in terms of conveying the state of contemplation. Through juxtaposing the soft edges with the somewhat hardened figure, I attempted to create the ambience of contemplation. We often view contemplation as being in a ‘dark state of mind’, although; through this painting I explore the evolvement or rather the conclusion of the reflective state. The hardened features of the figure are softened through the meekness and calm emotion captured in this work. To think- thought, to contemplate.”
Saptarshi Naskar ©
City Lights, 2010
“Whenever I look around me, I always see a space which is full of mixing, a world which is full of fusion, in the faces of people, in their thoughts, in their life styles. Their emotions and feelings. Therefore as an artist, I believe in fusion. ‘Fusion’ – the mixed up. Mixing of culture, mixing of human behavior, urban and rural socity, organic and inorganic feelings. That mixing may be some time political, social or in my personal life.”
Li Yueling ©
Straining Forward to the Goal, 2010
The big face of the boy in this painting intensely reminds us of the ambiguous situation in childhood. On the one side, it shows the hopes of the coming generation. In childhood, our dreams are rich and pure. The open and transparent look reflects his expectations, but also are our obligation to open up possibilities to develop their personality. On the other side, the spaces still kept open within the face of the boy refer to the open but also incomplete situation in childhood, which still needs guidance to develop successfully.
Sohan Jakhar ©
Ice Cream Vendor, 2009
The anonymous lives of street vendors and their carts are mobilized with uncanny visual effects by Sohan Jakhar’s series ‘Vendorism.’ As the coined term suggests, Jakhar views these omnipresent stalls with the eye of an intellectual (the ‘ism’) observer from afar; this is reflected in the angles of the subjects in the foreground and the uncanny sense of the viewer lurking just outside the canvas’ frame. Jakhar takes photographs of vendors then photoshops them against the colorful backgrounds of wallpapers from his own Haveli in his hometown, Shekhawati. He then increases the noise in the image until the photograph blurs: the residue produces a scene that is seemingly timeless – the harsh reality of a day-to-day sale of perishable items softened round the edges, silenced, anonymous.
Our diversity in art
We want everyone to realise their full potential. Like the diversity of our clients, colleagues and markets, our collection of portraits ranges in expressions, subjects, genders, styles and artists
(Left) James Crowther ©, A Smile in the Hills, 2008