Collection Société Générale

Set up in 1995, the Societe Generale collection encompasses nearly 350 original works and 700 lithographs, editions and screen prints, constituting one of the most important collections of contemporary art assembled by a bank in France. Structured around three main media – painting, sculpture, photography –, it combines the works of artists with an established reputation and the works of new artists. This diversity has become more pronounced in recent years with the decision to reach out to young talent from the artistic world in emerging countries, thus echoing the Group’s increasing international dimension.

The Societe Generale collection is exhibited entirely in the Group’s premises, mainly at the head office in La Défense. It creates a resonance between the art world and the corporate world – an interaction encouraged by numerous events such as the “Art Day”. This sharing process, in keeping with the Group’s values of team spirit, also extends to a wide external public audience, through the participation in various artistic events in France and internationally, including the FIAC International Contemporary Art Fair in Paris.   

For several years, the works in the collection have been regularly hung in regional museums (the CCC in Tours, the Nantes Museum of Fine Arts, and the Palace of Fine Arts in Lille, among others). These exhibits are generally tied to sponsorship initiatives supporting the host museum. A similar approach was taken internationally with exhibits being organised in places such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Prague's Kampa museum and the Grand Gallery in Sophia.