ARTPACE ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MATTHEW J. W. DRUTT
Matthew J. W. Drutt, former Chief Curator at The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas has been appointed executive director of Artpace San Antonio. A search committee headed by board chairperson Jeanne Klein and Artpace founder and trustee Linda Pace announced that Drutt will assume his post September 25, 2006.
Matthew J. W. Drutt, former Chief Curator at The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas has been appointed executive director of Artpace San Antonio. A search committee headed by board chairperson Jeanne Klein and Artpace founder and trustee Linda Pace announced that Drutt will assume his post September 25, 2006.
Matthew has a broad range of experience, from curatorial to long-range strategic planning, which will prove invaluable at this pivotal point in Artpaces history, stated Klein. Adds Pace, He will be an outstanding leader at Artpace and in the San Antonio art community, but an important player in the international art world as well.
Drutt most recently served as Chief Curator at The Menil Collection, Houston, TX. During his five years at the Menil, he played an instrumental role within the museum management team. With extensive fundraising experience, Drutt was also deeply involved with all budget planning and departmental reporting, exhibition and collections planning, in addition to capital projects.
Prior to moving to Houston, Drutt was Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, NY, while simulatenously holding the title of Adjunct Professor at Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Art. Drutt received his BA in Fine Arts and Russian, Cum Laude, from New York University, New York, NY and his MA in Art History from Yale University, New Haven, CT. He also participated in the Getty Museum Leadership Institute at The Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA.
Artpaces dedication to fostering experimentation and creativity in the visual arts is a model for residency programs around the world, states Drutt. I look forward to leading this vital institution as it endeavors to continue challenging and redefining itself and its resident artists, enabling Artpace to strive for and achieve the highest standards of quality.
While at the Menil Collection, notable exhibitions and projects Drutt organized include: Robert Gober: The Meat Wagon (2005-2006); Olafur Eliasson: Photographs (2004); Kazimir Malevich: Suprematism>, co-organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, NY (2003 2004); and Vik Muniz: Model Pictures (2002). Other exhibitions of note include: Amazons of the Avant-Garde, Six Russian Artists: Alexandra Exter, Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, Olga Rozanova, Varvara Stepanova, and Nadezhda Udaltsova, Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Guggenehim Museum Bilbao; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Tretiakov Galllery, Moscow (1999-2001); Contemporary Photography: An Expanded View, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain (19992000); and Max Beckmann in Exile, Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York, NY (1996-1997).
Select awards Drutt has received include Chevalier de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres (2006) and Best Monographic Exhibition Organized Nationally: Kazimir Malevich: Suprematism, International Association of Art Critics (2003). A respected author, Drutt has an extensive publishing history in association with the exhibitions he has organized.
Various boards and committees Drutt is currently on or has served in capacity include: Dokumenta International Advisory Board, Kassel, Germany (2006); Founding Vice-President, The Arts Initiative, Houston, TX (2005present); Voting Member, CINAM (International Committee of Museums of Modern Art/ICOM) (2003 present); Art Advisory Board, American Academy, Berlin, Germany (200507); and Juror, Lucelia Artist Award, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (2002).
A frequent lecturer across the globe, recent engagements include: To Be A Director?, invitational roundtable discussion, Getty Leadership Institute, Los Angeles, CA (2006); Aspen Curatorial Dialogues, speaker, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO (2004); Strategies for Building A Collection, panel discussion, The New Museum, New York, NY (2004); Kazimir Malevich: Suprematism, Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin, Berlin, Germany (2003); Dokumenta XI: The Absence of Curatorial Dictatorship and the Abandonment of the Viewer, Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX (2002); Looted Art and Provenance Research Problems, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (2000) and Video-Performance, RAI, Rome, Italy (1998).
From his vast experience, knowledge, and high regard in the international art world, Matthew is the right person at the right time to lead Artpace through this unprecedented growth period, acknowledges Pace.
Drutt will be moving to San Antonio with his wife, curator Claudia Schmuckli.
The search was conducted by Linda Sweet of the executive search firm Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc.
About Artpace
Artpace San Antonio serves as a laboratory for the creation and advancement of international contemporary art. Artpace believes that art is a dynamic social force that inspires individuals and defines cultures. Our residencies, exhibitions, and education programs nurture the creative expression of emerging and established artists, while actively engaging youth and adult audiences.
Artpace is located downtown at 445 North Main Avenue, between Savings and Martin streets, San Antonio, Texas. Free parking is available on the corner of Savings and N. Flores streets. Artpace is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 PM, Thursday, 12-8 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free.
Artpace San Antonio is supported by Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Neiman Marcus, Nimoy Foundation, Valero Energy Corporation, Texas Commission on the Arts, H-E-B, a grant from the Ruth Lang Charitable Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, the William and Salomé Scanlan Foundation, AT&T, The Nordan Trust, Matthews Family Foundation, Target, The Brown Foundation, Inc., the Amy Shelton McNutt Charitable Trust, the Make Your Mark Circle, and the Friends of Artpace.
