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The Commissioner of the Russian Pavilion, Stella Kesaeva, announced the
appointment of the curator of the Pavilion for the 55th Venice
Biennale. The curator of the Russian Pavilion will be Udo Kittelmann,
Director of the Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (State Museums
in Berlin).
Commenting the appointment, Stella Kesaeva said:
"It was decided in April 2012 that the artist Vadim Zakharov would
represent Russia at the Venice Biennale in 2013. The idea of inviting Udo
Kittelmann as curator followed from the choice of the artist. As a result,
the Russian Pavilion will be curated by a citizen of another country for
the first time in its history. Udo Kittelmann is one of the most renowned
curators in the art world and his appointment is an important and conscious
step, reflecting our principal objective, which is to bring Russian art out
of isolation and secure for it the attention that it deserves at the
highest international level. I am very happy that Udo Kittelmann shares our
view and has accepted the project."
Accepting the appointment as
Curator of the Russian Pavilion, Udo Kittelmann said:
"I am very
pleased to take on this responsibility and the tough challenge of curating
the Russian Pavilion at the forthcoming Venice Biennale.
The
fact that Russia will be represented by the artist Vadim Zakharov means
much to me. I am greatly honoured that Vadim Zakharov proposed me as
candidate for the curatorship and that the commissioner, Stella Kesaeva,
supported the idea, enabling the continuation of my long cooperation with
Vadim, which dates from the 1990s. I greatly admire the contribution, which
Vadim Zakharov has made to contemporary art. His work has a continuity of
development and is marked by a unique outlook and independence of artistic
thought. His constant role as thinker and protagonist of the Moscow
Conceptualist movement from the end of the 1970s remains a hallmark of his
work right up to the present.
As a curator, it gives me joy to
be able to present this outstanding artist to a broad public. It would be
hard to find a better place for an international exhibition of Vadim's work
than the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale."
The Venice
Biennale in 2013 will be held from June 1 until November 24, with preview
days on May 29, 30 and 31. Massimiliano Gioni has been appointed artistic
director of the Biennale. The Russian Pavilion was built following a design
by the architect Alexei Schusev. It is one of the oldest Biennale pavilions
and stands on the main thoroughfare of the Giardini della Biennale.
Udo Kittelmann
Udo Kittelmann was born in 1958 in
Düsseldorf, Germany.
Since fall 2008, he has been the
Director of the Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (State Museums
in Berlin). In this position he is responsible for the Alte Nationalgalerie
(Old National Galley), Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) and the
Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart - Berlin (Museum for
Contemporary Art), as well as the Berggruen Museum, the Sammlung
Scharf-Gerstenberg (Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection) and the
Friedrichswerdersche Kirche.
Udo Kittelmann worked as a
freelance curator from 1987 to 1993, organizing more then 100 exhibitions
of contemporary art during that time. From 1994 to 2001 he was the director
of the Kölnischer Kunstverein (Cologne). In 2001, he was the
commissioner of the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, where the
Totes Haus ur project by Gregor Schneider won the Golden Lion award
for best national pavilion. Between 2002 and 2008, Udo Kittelmann was the
director of the MMK, Museum für Moderne Kunst (Modern Art Musem) in
Frankfurt.
Udo Kittelmann is the author and editor of various
publications and essays on art.
The official site of the Russian
Pavilion is: www.ruspavilion.ru
Press contacts:
Anna Svergun a.svergun@gmail.com, T
+79166094115
Daria Kuzneva dashakuzneva@mail.ru
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