Jens Hoffmann Appointed Director
CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts
in San Francisco
www.wattis.org
Jens Hoffmann, currently director of exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, has been named as the new director of the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at California College of the Arts (CCA). Hoffmann will be responsible for the development of exhibitions and public programs in venues on the colleges San Francisco campus, which include the Logan Galleries and Timken Lecture Hall. Hoffmann will take up his position at CCA on November 1, 2006, although he will continue his role at the ICA until early 2007. Hoffmann succeeds Ralph Rugoff, who was director of the CCA Wattis Institute from August 2000 to May 2006; Rugoff recently was appointed director of the Hayward Gallery in London.
CCA President Michael Roth commented on Hoffmanns appointment: Jens has developed some of the most stimulating and inspired programming in the field of contemporary art. He has worked extensively with a broad range of artists, writers and curators from around the globe. His expertise in the presentation of contemporary art and his considerable teaching, lecturing and publication experience will serve him well in guiding the CCA Wattis Institute. California College of the Arts has become a leading venue for the development of thoughtful, engaging exhibitions and Jens is just the right person to build on the accomplishments of the last several years.
Im delighted with my appointment as director of the Wattis, stated Hoffmann, and I look forward to building on its reputation as a place that can make a difference in the art world. It is a wonderful opportunity to join an institution that embraces both curatorial innovation and critical reflection.
About Jens Hoffmann
Jens Hoffmann has been director of exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London since January 2004. At the ICA he has organized several group exhibitions, including Artists Favorite (2004), 100 Artists See God (20045), London in Six Easy Steps (2005), Around the World in Eighty Days (2006) Surprise, Surprise (2006) and Alien Nation (2006). He also has curated solo exhibitions for John Bock, Cerith Wyn Evans, Tino Sehgal, Jonathan Monk and Martha Rosler.
Hoffmann has worked for institutions and exhibitions such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Dia Center for the Arts, New York; Documenta X, Kassel; Portikus Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; and he has curated exhibitions for KIASMAMuseum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; Kunstverein, Hamburg; Kunst-Werke, Berlin; Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions; Hugh Lane Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; as well as a number of institutions and galleries in Europe, South America and the United States. He was co-curator of the 1st Prague Biennial (2003), the 1st Tirana Biennial (2001), and was assistant curator of the 1st Berlin Biennial (1998). As an independent curator, Hoffmann has organized exhibitions since 1998, amoung many others exhibition_, Stockholm (2001); A Little Bit of History Repeated, Berlin (2001); A Show That Will Show That A Show Is Not Only A Show, Los Angeles (2002); The Exhibition As A Work of Art, Rio de Janeiro (2003); Insituiton_, Helsinki (2004); A Walk to Remember, Los Angeles (2005); and Home of the Free, Chicago (2006).
His most recent publications include The Next Documenta Should be Curated by an Artist (Revolver, 2004) and Perform (Thames & Hudson, 2005), co-authored with Joan Jonas. He is also one of the authors of forthcoming Cream 4 (Phaidon, 2007). He has authored more than 100 texts on contemporary art and curatorial practice for art journals and exhibition publications.
About the CCA Wattis Institute
Established in 1998, the CCA Wattis Institute serves as a forum for the presentation and discussion of leading-edge local, national and international contemporary culture. Through exhibitions, the Capp Street Project residency program, lectures, symposia, performances and publications in the fields of art, architecture and design, the Wattis Institute fosters interaction among the students and faculty of CCA; art, architecture and design professionals; and the general public. For information, visit www.wattis.org
