Krist Gruijthuijsen appointed as new artistic director
Grazer Kunstverein
Palais Trauttmansdorff
Burggasse 4
8010 Graz, Austria
T +43 (0)316 83 41 41
F +43 (0)316 83 41 42
office [at] grazerkunstverein.org
The search for a new artistic director for the Grazer Kunstverein attracted a large amount of applicants from home and abroad. It was a hard task for the jury to draw a pre-selection out of a variety of high-quality applications. Out of the candidates that were interviewed, the new artistic director was selected:
Krist Gruijthuijsen (b. 1980, NL), curator, critic, and co-founder of the Kunstverein Amsterdam, will be the new artistic director of the Grazer Kunstverein from 1 September 2012 onwards.
Gruijthuijsen was chosen due to his international experiences, his competence, and his knowledge of founding and directing a Kunstverein in order to continue and renew the high-value, internationally oriented focus of the organization.
Under the direction of Søren Grammel, the Grazer Kunstverein has developed itself into a platform for presentation and production of contemporary art in Graz and with a strong international reputation. Daniel Pies, who is currently functioning as interim director, has successfully continued the program until this autumn. With Krist Gruijthuijsen, the Grazer Kunstverein will expand its program regarding international artists, building a platform for curatorial praxis and communication as well as acquiring and binding members to the Kunstverein due to special events.
Krist Gruijthuijsen is a curator, writer, publisher, and course director of the MA Fine Arts Department at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. As co-founding director of Kunstverein in Amsterdam, he has organized exhibitions, events, and publications of o.a. Ian Wilson, Ben Kinmont, Dennis Cooper, Ray Johnson, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Guerrilla Art Action Group, Adam Pendleton, Simon Martin, Dexter Sinister, Robert Wilhite, Richard Kostelanetz, Nedko Solakov, and Raimundas Malasauskas. Previous exhibitions and projects have been presented at a.o. Manifesta 7 (Italy); Platform Garanti (Istanbul); Artists Space (New York); Extra City (Antwerp); Museum of Contemporary Art (Belgrade); Swiss Institute (New York); Anthology Film Archives (New York); A Gentil Carioca/ Galeria Vermelho (Rio de Janeiro/ Sao Paulo); Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam); Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven); Marres, Centre for Contemporary Culture (Maastricht); and Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam.
Gruijthuijsen has (co-) produced many publications, amongst others: The Encyclopedia of Fictional Artists + The Addition (JRP Ringier), We all Laughed at Christopher Columbus (Revolver), Novella (not yet another story) (Revolver), Ben Kinmont: Prospectus, works from 1989–2011 (JRP Ringier), Paper Exhibition: Selected Writings of Raimundas Malausaskas (Sternberg Press), and several others under the umbrella of ‘Kunstverein Publishing.’
