Daniel Birnbaum is a Swedish art curator and an

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

. Since 2019, he has been director and curator of Acute Art in London, UK.

Early life and education

Birnbaum studied at

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

in Germany and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York. In 1998, he completed his doctorate in philosophy at Stockholm University.Natalia Rachlin (June 12, 2012)
In Stockholm, Stretching a Museum's Boundaries
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Career

Early beginnings

Birnbaum has been the curator of institutions and exhibitions in many countries, for which he has produced catalogue entries. In 1998, he became director of Sweden's International Artists Studio Program (IASPIS), a position he held until 2000. During that time, he was also a co-curator of the 1st in

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

, Norway, in 1998, with and Atle Gerhardsen.

Städelschule, 2001–2010

Between 2001 and 2010, Birnbaum held the position of Rector at the

Städelschule The Städelschule, full name Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule, is a tertiary school of art in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It accepts about 20 students each year from around 500 applicants, and has a total of approximately 150 ...

fine arts academy in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

in Germany. During that time, he also served as director of

Portikus Portikus is an exhibition hall for contemporary art in Frankfurt am Main, that was founded in 1987 by Kasper König. The museum is part of Frankfurt's Museumsufer (Museum Riverbank). Portikus presents the work of both internationally renowned ar ...

, an exhibition space at the Städelschule since 1987. In addition to his role at Städelschule, Birnbaum served as a member of the board of the Manifesta biennale in Amsterdam from 2002 to 2009. In 2003, he was co-curator of the international section of the

50th Venice Biennale The 50th Venice Biennale, held in 2003 (15 June-2 November), was an exhibition of international contemporary art, with 64 participating nations. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Prizewinners of the 50th Biennale inc ...

. From 2004 to 2007, he was associate curator of the exhibition space in Stockholm. In 2005, he was co-curator of the 1st

Moscow Biennale The Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art is one of the most important Russian cultural events and was founded in 2003. First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art The First Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (January 28 – February 28, 2005) ca ...

. From 2006 to 2008, he was co-curator of ''Uncertain States of America'' with

Hans Ulrich Obrist Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic, and art historian. He is artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, London. Obrist is the author of ''The Interview Project'', an extensive ongoing project of interviews. He is ...

and Gunnar B. Kvaran at CCS Bard College, the

Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Galler ...

, the 2nd

, the Rudolfinum Galerie, and the Astrup Fearnley Museum, among other locations. In 2007, he was co-curator of ''Airs de Paris'' with

Christine Macel Christine Macel (born 1969) is a French curator. She was the director of the 2017 Venice Biennale while holding the position of chief curator at the Centre Pompidou from 2000–2022. In 2022 she is nominated Director of the Musée des arts déco ...

at the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

. In 2008, he was co-curator of the 3rd with

Hu Fang Hu Fang (; 1970) is a fiction writer, art critic and curator. He lives and works in Guangzhou and Beijing. He is the co-founder and artistic director of Vitamin Creative Space in Guangzhou and the Pavilion in Beijing. He has been involved in va ...

, Akiko Miyake,

Hans-Ulrich Obrist Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic, and art historian. He is artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, London. Obrist is the author of ''The Interview Project'', an extensive ongoing project of interviews. He is ...

, and

Beatrix Ruf Beatrix Ruf (born 1960, Singen, Germany) is a German art curator and art advisor who held the position of director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam between November 2014 and October 2017. Formerly she was director of the Kunsthalle Zurich. She is ...

, and curator of the 2nd Torino Triennale, ''50 Moons of Saturn''. In 2009, he was the artistic director of the

53rd Venice Biennale The 53rd Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held in 2009. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Daniel Birnbaum curated its central exhibition, "Making Worlds". Awards ...

. Birnbaum also served on the juries for the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

(2008) and the first

Future Generation Art Prize The Future Generation Art Prize is a biannual global contemporary art prize with the aim to discover, recognize and give long-term support to young artists. The prize was established by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in 2009. The winner is awarded a ...

(2010).

Moderna Museet, 2010–2018

From 2010 to 2018, Birnbaum served as the director of

Moderna Museet Moderna Museet is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened Moderna Museet Malmö in Malmö. History The museum opened in Stockh ...

, the museum of modern art in Stockholm. In 2015, Birnbaum chaired the jury that awarded the

Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lic ...

's Wolfgang Hahn Prize to

Michael Krebber Michael Krebber (born 26 April 1954) is a contemporary German painter known for his conceptual approach to painting, often characterized by an emphasis on the medium's limitations, an engagement with art historical references, and a tendency tow ...

and R. H. Quaytman. Birnbaum was the co-curator of ''Hilma af Klint: Painting the Unseen'' with Emma Enderby at the

Serpentine Galleries The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Galler ...

in 2016 and of ''Hilma af Klint: Possible Worlds'' with Jochen Volz at the Pinacoteca in São Paulo in 2018. He has been an adjunct board member of the Hilma Af Klint Foundation since 2017.

Later career

In 2018, Birnbaum announced that he would leave his post to head up Acute Art, a company with an interest in creating virtual-reality and augmented-reality works in collaboration with artists.

Publications

While in New York in the 1990s, Birnbaum began to write for ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'' and subsequently became a contributing editor. He also published articles in other international art magazines such as ''

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

.'' He has written on artists

Olafur Eliasson Olafur Eliasson (; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scaled installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's experience. In 1995, ...

Pierre Huyghe Pierre Huyghe (born 11 September 1962) is a French contemporary artist, who works in a variety of media from films and sculptures to public interventions and living systems. He lives and works in Santiago de Chile. Early life and education Pier ...

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (born 30 June 1965) is a French visual artist and educator. She is known for her work in video projection, photography, and art installations. She has worked in landscaping, design, and writing. "I always look for expe ...

Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German Fine-art photography, photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillman ...

Cerith Wyn Evans Cerith Wyn Evans (born 1958 in Llanelli) is a Welsh conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker. In 2018 he won the £30,000 Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Early life and education The son of Sulwyn and Myfanwy Evans, Evans was born in Llanelli. ...

and Paul Chan. He has produced academic texts and translations on Novalis,

Edmund Husserl Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (; 8 April 1859 – 27 April 1938) was an Austrian-German philosopher and mathematician who established the school of Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology. In his early work, he elaborated critiques of histori ...

, Martin Heidegger, Gottlob Frege,

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, poet and polemicist who is considered one of the most important German-language authors of the postwar era. He explored themes of death, iso ...

, and

Jean-François Lyotard Jean-François Lyotard (; ; 10 August 1924 – 21 April 1998) was a French philosopher, sociologist, and literary theorist. His interdisciplinary discourse spans such topics as epistemology and communication, the human body, modern art and p ...

: * Daniel Birnbaum, ''The Hospitality of Presence: Problems of Otherness in Husserl's Phenomenology'', Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1998, 200 p., . A new edition was published ten years later: Daniel Birnbaum, ''The Hospitality of Presence: Problems of Otherness in Husserl's Phenomenology'', Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2008, 278 p., * Heike Belzer and Daniel Birnbaum, eds., ''Kunst Lehren – Teaching Art: Städelschule Frankfurt/Main'', Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2007, 376 p., English / German, * Daniel Birnbaum and , eds., ''Under Pressure: Pictures, Subjects, and the New Spirit of Capitalism'', Institut für Kunstkritik series, Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2008, 96 p., * Daniel Birnbaum and , ''Spacing Philosophy: Lyotard and the Idea of the Exhibition'', Institut für Kunstkritik series, Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2019, 252 p.,

References

Bibliography

La Biennale di Venezia - Daniel Birnbaum

Texts and curated projects by Daniel Birnbaum
at

museum in progress museum in progress is a private art association based in Vienna. The non-profit art initiative was created in 1990 by Kathrin Messner and Josef Ortner († 2009) with the aim to develop new presentation forms for contemporary art. The projects ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birnbaum, Daniel Swedish art curators Stockholm University alumni 1963 births Living people Directors of museums in the United Kingdom Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Venice Biennale artistic directors People from Stockholm