Klaus Ottmann (born 1954 in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

) is a writer, art curator and publisher. He is currently deputy director for Academic Affairs and Special Projects at The Phillips Collection 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 o
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 (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

, the philosophy of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural ...

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

, 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 it s ...

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 ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (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 ...

(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 City, New York and South India. His work has ...

: A Retrospective,'' * ''The Essential

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

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

Postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

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