Beatrix Ruf appointed Director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Museumplein 10
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Beatrix Ruf has been appointed as the new Director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the largest museum of modern and contemporary art and design of the Netherlands. Ruf is currently Director of the Kunsthalle Zürich.
The museum’s Supervisory Board speaks very highly of Ruf’s keen eye for quality and emerging talent, her extensive professional network, and her distinctive, radical, and self-assured programming for the Kunsthalle Zürich, as well as her impressive personal dedication in presenting the institution and placing it at the center of debate. Ruf succeeds Ann Goldstein, who was Artistic Director at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam for the past four years, and will jointly lead the museum with Managing Director Karin van Gilst.
Over the last 15 years, Beatrix Ruf has become widely acknowledged as one of the most influential figures in the international art world. For several years, the American journal Art Review has named her as one of the top-ranking art professionals in its “Power 100,” ranking her 7th in 2013.
Beatrix Ruf (Singen, Germany, 1960) was appointed Director of the Kunsthalle Zürich in 2001. She initiated an extensive reconstruction and expansion project in 2003, which took place in 2011 and 2012. At the Kunsthalle Zürich, Ruf developed a distinguished exhibition program of solo and group presentations. She also gave many young artists their first museum presentations at the Kunsthalle Zürich.
Ruf embraces experimentation, as proven by the numerous ambitious new art installations she commissioned for Kunsthalle Zürich. Ruf also initiated relevant projects in art history, such as the long-anticipated survey exhibitions of Yang Fudong and Ian Wallace, among others. She also provided a platform for many important, but lesser-known or “forgotten,” artists. By exhibiting their work generously and at precisely the right moment, Ruf gave them a well-deserved place in the canon, correcting art history and highlighting meaningful connections between historical and current art forms. In her programming, Ruf focused on renowned local artists, the upcoming generation, and “non-Western” artists alike. In Zürich, Ruf presented the breadth of contemporary art production—from local to regional, national, and international.
Ruf embeds her projects within a network of prominent international institutions including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Tate Liverpool, the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and Moderna Museet in Stockholm. In addition to her directorship in Zürich, Ruf has also been involved with numerous prestigious international biennials and triennials. In 2006, she was the curator of the successful third edition of the Tate Triennial in London.
Alexander Ribbink, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, says, “We believe that, with her profound and inspiring international scope, Beatrix Ruf is the best choice for this museum and its visitors. She shows a unique ability to connect the museum to artists, collectors, the private and public sector, and the city. She brings a contemporary vision to the museum which will expand upon the Stedelijk’s illustrious history and bring it forward to the 21st century.”
Karin van Gilst, Managing Director, says, “I greatly look forward to working with Beatrix Ruf. This is an excellent moment to refresh the artistic DNA and vision of our museum, which is at the very core of our existence.”
Beatrix Ruf says, “I feel very honored, and am very moved, to be entrusted with the opportunity to be director of the Stedelijk Museum and to lead its extraordinary exhibition history and its collection into the future, together with the entire Stedelijk team. Its courageous and outstanding contemporary—as well as art historical—exhibitions and world-class collection of modern and contemporary art and design were always a beacon and example in my own professional thinking and in numerous discussions with artists and colleagues. The Stedelijk Museum is a museum that shows us how to live in the present and how the future can be built on tradition. I am thrilled to be able to work with this unique institution, its team, and its collection.”
Upon this announcement, Beatrix Ruf will start her involvement with the Stedelijk Museum effective immediately. She will commence working with the staff on programming and other matters. In the upcoming months, she will increasingly be involved with the museum and start settling in Amsterdam. She will join the Stedelijk Museum full-time on November 1st.
Current and upcoming exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
–Marcel Wanders: Pinned Up at the Stedelijk (February 1–June 15, 2014)
–The Gijs+Emmy Spectacle, Fashion and Jewelry design by Gijs Bakker and Emmy van Leersum 1967–1972 (February 22–August 24, 2014)
–Jeff Wall: Tableaux Pictures Photographs 1996–2013 (March 1–August 3, 2014)
–Bad Thoughts – Collection Martijn and Jeannette Sanders (July 19–December 7, 2014)
–Marlene Dumas – The Image as Burden (September 6, 2014–January 4, 2015)
