Klaus Ottmann (born 1954 in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

) is a writer, art curatorhttps://web.archive.org/web/20110105143721/http://phillipscollection.org/press/press_docs/news_releases/Ottman.pdf and publisher. He is currently deputy director for Academic Affairs and Special Projects at

The Phillips Collection The Phillips Collection is an art museum founded by Duncan Phillips and Marjorie Acker Phillips in 1921 as the Phillips Memorial Gallery located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Phillips was the grandson of James H. Laughli ...

in Washington, D.C.

Education

Ottmann received a M.A. in philosophy from the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Division of Media and Communications at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.

Career

At The Phillips Collection, he has organized the exhibitions ''Karel Appel: A Gesture of Color; Hiroshi Sugimoto: Conceptual Forms and Mathematical Models; Angels, Demons, and Savages: Pollock, Ossorio, Dubuffet;'' and ''Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculpture;'' and oversaw the installation of the Phillips's new permanent installation, a Wax Room created by Wolfgang Laib. Ottmann has curated more than 50 international exhibitions, including ''Jennifer Bartlett: History of the Universe. Works 1970–2011; Still Points of the Turning World: SITE Santa Fe’s Sixth International Biennial; Life, Love, and Death: The Work of James Lee Byars; Wolfgang Laib: A Retrospective;'' and ''Strange Attractors: The Spectacle of Chaos.'' His publications include ''Yves Klein by Himself: His Life and Thought, The Genius Decision: The Extraordinary and the Postmodern Condition,'' and ''The Essential Mark Rothko.'' In 2006, he translated and edited Yves Klein's complete writings, ''Overcoming the Problematics of Art: The Writings of Yves Klein,'' and in 2010 he translated F.W.J. Schelling's ''Philosophy and Religion'' (1804). Ottmann is the publisher and editor of Spring Publications, which publishes books on archetypal psychology, symbolic imagination, art and the philosophy of art,

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...

, the philosophy of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

, and

gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where ...

Awards

In 2016, Ottmann was awarded the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. Created in 1957, the

Order of Arts and Letters The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

(Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) honors notable artists and writers, as well as others who have significantly contributed to furthering the arts in France and around the world.

Books

* ''

Wolfgang Laib Wolfgang Laib (born 25 March 1950 in Metzingen, Germany) is a German artist, predominantly known as a sculptor. He lives and works in a small village in southern Germany, maintaining studios in New York and South India. His work has been exhibit ...

: A Retrospective,'' * ''The Essential

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko ( ; Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz until 1940; September 25, 1903February 25, 1970) was an American abstract art, abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular reg ...

,'' * ''

James Lee Byars James Lee Byars (April 10, 1932 – May 23, 1997) was an American conceptual artist and performance artist specializing in installations and sculptures, as well as a self-considered mystic. He was best known for his use of personal esoteric moti ...

: Life, Love, and Death,'' * ''The Genius Decision: The Extraordinary and the

Postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

Condition,'' * ''Thought Through My Eyes: Writings on Art, 1977–2005,'' * ''Overcoming the Problematics of Art: The Writings of Yves Klein,'' (translator)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottmann, Klaus American art curators German curators German art curators Living people 1954 births