Iwan Wirth (born 1970) is a Swiss art dealer and the president and co-founder of

Hauser & Wirth Hauser & Wirth is a Swiss contemporary and modern art gallery. History Hauser & Wirth was founded in 1992 in Zurich by Iwan Wirth, Manuela Wirth, and Ursula Hauser, who were joined in 2000 by co-president Marc Payot. In 2020, Ewan Venters was ap ...

, a

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

gallery.

Life and career

Iwan Wirth was born in 1970 and spent his early life in

St. Gallen, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

, where his father was an architect and his mother was a schoolteacher. Wirth opened a commercial gallery in 1986 at the age of sixteen, and began working as a private dealer in Zurich in 1990.

Hauser & Wirth

In 1992, Wirth opened the Hauser & Wirth gallery together with Manuela and Ursula, heirs to the Fust retail fortune.Dan Duray (17 January 2012)
The Constant Gardener: Iwan Wirth’s Hauser & Wirth Gallery Will Open a 15,000-Plus-Square-Foot Space Downtown This Year
''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

''.

Other activities

In addition to his commercial activities, Wirth holds a variety of advisory positions, including: *

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

(CalArts), member of the board of trustees (since 2016) * Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York, member of the board of trustees (since 2016) * Maria Lassnig Foundation, member of the board of trustees (since 2015) * Royal Academy of Arts, member of the board of trustees (since 2014) * Serpentine Gallery, member of the council *

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, member of the South Asian Acquisitions Committee From 1998 until 2009, Wirth and

David Zwirner David Zwirner (born October 23, 1964) is a German art dealer and owner of the David Zwirner Gallery in New York City, London, Hong Kong, and Paris. Early life and education Zwirner was born in Cologne, West Germany. The son of art dealer Rudolf ...

operated Zwirner & Wirth, which focused on private sales, in New York. In 2014, Wirth opened an arts complex in

Bruton Bruton ( ) is a market town, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, 10 ...

, Somerset, which includes the Roth Bar & Grill restaurant and a guesthouse hotel in the Durslade Farmhouse. The public garden is designed by

Piet Oudolf Piet Oudolf (; born 27 October 1944) is a Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" movementhis designs and plant compositions using bold drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses which are cho ...

. He later purchased a hotel in Braemar, in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. He is also part-owner of 'Manuela', a restaurant at the Hauser Wirth & Schimmel arts complex in Los Angeles.

Recognition

In 2015, Iwan Wirth and Manuela Hauser were ranked number one on ''

ArtReview ''ArtReview'' is an international contemporary art magazine based in London, founded in 1948. Its sister publication, ''ArtReview Asia'', was established in 2013. History Launched as a fortnightly broadsheet in February 1949 by a retired country ...

s list of 'most powerful and influential figures in the art world'. In 2012, Wirth and his wife endowed a senior lecturer position in modern and contemporary Asian art for the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

in London. In 2015, both were awarded

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s by

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The insti ...

. Iwan and Manuela Wirth were named one of the 'Top 50 Philanthropists of 2019' by Town & Country, after founding Hauser & Wirth Institute and donating $1 million to Cal State LA through a partnership with Hauser & Wirth.

Personal life

Iwan Wirth married Manuela Hauser, a former teacher, in 1996. They have four children. They lived in Zurich until 2005, when the family moved to London's Holland Park. In 2007, the family made

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

their primary residence. They maintain apartments in London and New York and a holiday home on

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

's Isla del Rey, designed by Luis Laplace.Maximilíano Durón (13 June 2019)
Hauser & Wirth Will Open Exhibition Space, Residency Program on Menorca’s Isla del Rey
''

ARTnews ''ARTnews'' is an American visual-arts magazine, based in New York City. It covers art from ancient to contemporary times. ARTnews is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. It has a readership of 180,000 in 124 countr ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirth, Iwan 1970 births Living people Swiss art dealers 21st-century Swiss businesspeople People from the canton of St. Gallen