News — Apr 8, 2014

Amsterdam, April 8, 2014 — Today, the Supervisory Board of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam announces the appointment of Beatrix Ruf as new Director of the Stedelijk. Ruf is currently Director of the Kunsthalle Zürich. The Supervisory Board speaks very highly of her keen eye for quality and emerging talent, her extensive professional network, and her distinctive, radical and self-assured programming for the Kunsthalle Zürich, as well as her impressive personal dedication in presenting the institution and placing it at the centre of debate. Ruf succeeds Ann Goldstein, who was Artistic Director at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam for the past 4 years and will jointly lead the Museum with Managing Director Karin van Gilst.  

Over the last 15 years, Beatrix Ruf has become widely acknowledged as one of the most influential figures in the international art world. For several years, the American journal Art Review has named her as one of the top-ranking art professionals in its ‘Power Top 100’, ranking her 7th in 2013.

Beatrix Ruf (Singen, Germany, 1960) was appointed Director of the Kunsthalle Zürich in 2001. She initiated an extensive reconstruction and expansion project in 2003, which took place in 2011 and 2012. At the Kunsthalle Zürich, Ruf developed a distinguished exhibition program of solo presentations and group presentations. She also gave many young artists their first museum presentation at the Kunsthalle Zürich.

Ruf embraces experimentation, as proven by the numerous ambitious new art installations she commissioned for Kunsthalle Zürich. Ruf also initiated art-historically relevant projects such as the long-anticipated survey exhibitions of Yang Fudong and Ian Wallace, among others. She also provided a platform for many important, but lesser-known or ‘forgotten’, artists. By exhibiting their work generously and at precisely the right moment, Ruf gave them a well-deserved place in the canon, correcting art history and highlighting meaningful connections between historical and current art forms. In her programming Ruf focused on renowned local artists, the upcoming generation and ‘non-Western’ artists alike. In Zürich, Ruf presented the breadth of contemporary art production―from local to national, regional and international.

Ruf embeds her projects within a network of prominent international institutions including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Tate Liverpool, the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven and Moderna Museet in Stockholm. In addition to her directorship in Zürich, Ruf has also been involved with numerous prestigious international biennials and triennials. In 2006, she was the curator of the successful third edition of the Tate Triennial in London.

Alexander Ribbink, Chairman of the Supervisory Board: “We believe that, with her profound and inspiring international scope, Beatrix Ruf is the best choice for this museum and its visitors. She shows a unique ability to connect the museum to artists, collectors, the private and public sector, and the city. She brings a contemporary vision to the Museum which will expand upon the Stedelijk’s illustrious history and bring it forward to the 21st century.”

Karin van Gilst: “I greatly look forward to working with Beatrix Ruf. This is an excellent moment to refresh the artistic DNA and vision of our Museum, which is at the very core of our existence.”

Beatrix Ruf: ”I feel very honored, and am very moved, to be entrusted with the opportunity to be Director of the Stedelijk Museum and to lead its extraordinary exhibition history and its collection into the future, together with the entire Stedelijk team. Its courageous and outstanding contemporary as well as art historical exhibitions and the world-class collection of modern and contemporary art and design were always a beacon and example in my own professional thinking and in numerous discussions with artists and colleagues. The Stedelijk Museum is a museum that shows us how to live in the present and how future can be built on tradition. I am thrilled to be able to work with this unique institution, its team and its collection.”

A selection committee from the Supervisory Board drew up a profile for the position in consultation with the staff of the museum. The Board also sought advice on potential candidates from both Dutch and foreign experts. 8 candidates were invited for interviews. John Leighton, former Director of the Van Gogh Museum, was involved in the final phase of the selection process as an external advisor.

Upon this announcement, Beatrix Ruf will start her involvement with the Stedelijk Museum effective immediately. She will commence working with the staff on programming and other matters. In the upcoming months she will increasingly be involved with the museum and start settling in Amsterdam. She will join  the Stedelijk Museum fulltime on November 1st.

Brief biography

Beatrix Ruf (Singen, Germany, 1960) has a rich and diverse career in the international art world. After completing studies in Psychology, Ethnology and Art and Cultural Sciences at the University of Zürich followed by studying at the Conservatory of Vienna, Ruf worked as a freelance curator, choreographer and critic. She served as Curator at Kunstmuseum Thurgau, Warth from 1994-1998, and was Director of Kunsthaus Glarus, Glarus from 1998-2001.

In 2001, Beatrix Ruf was appointed Director of Kunsthalle Zürich, overseeing a substantial expansion project launched in 2003 and concluded in 2012. She developed an internationally renowned exhibition program of solo presentations and group exhibitions. Wilhelm Sasnal, Keren Cytter, Trisha Donnelly, Wade Guyton and Seth Price were among the young talents to receive their first museum presentation there. Ruf does not shy away from the experimental, which is clear from the countless new productions that were realized during her directorate: John Miller, Richard Prince, Heimo Zobernig, Isa Genzken, Sarah Lucas and Rosemarie Trockel among many others produced ambitious installations especially for Kunsthalle Zürich.

In Zürich, Ruf also initiated projects of art-historical relevance, including long-anticipated survey exhibitions of, among others, Yang Fudong and Ian Wallace. She also presented the artistic positions of many significant, yet lesser-known or ‘forgotten’ artists; often those of an older or past generation (Lutz Bacher, Bruce Connor). By presenting their work generously and at the right moment, Ruf gave them a well-deserved place in the canon, thus correcting  art history, revealing meaningful connections between historic and current art forms. Ruf collaborated with many established Swiss artists such as Fischli & Weiss, Olivier Mosset, Ugo Rondinone, and gave many of them their first institutional presence, like Urs Fischer, Valentin Carron and Tobias Madison. This is a practice she prominently followed in her programming at large, also with ‘non-Western’ artists like Christodoulos Panayitou, Alejandro Cesarco or Yüksel Arslan. During her tenure in Zürich, Ruf presented art production in the broadest sense, from local to regional, national and international.

Together with a wide range of publishing houses, among them JRP│Ringier (a Swiss publishing house for art she co-initiated), Ruf produced a range of extremely important publications. Her articles and essays on the work of emerging artists are invaluable in providing insight and context for developing oeuvres. Ruf also edited influential art historical publications including “Mark Morrisroe”, “Isa Genzken-Werkverzeichnis Bd. II: 1992-2003”, the catalogue raisonée of Sarah Lucas or “Yang Fudong: Estranged Paradise. Works 1993–2013”. Many artists worked with Ruf to produce notable artist books, including John Armleder, About Nothing, and “I love New York, Crazy City” by Isa Genzken.

Ruf embeds her projects within a network of prominent international institutions including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Tate Liverpool, the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, Witte de With in Rotterdam, Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Berkeley Art Museum in San Francisco and Moderna Museet in Stockholm. In addition to her directorship in Zürich, Ruf has also been involved with numerous prestigious international biennials and triennials.

In 2006, Ruf was the Curator of the successful third edition of the Tate Triennial in London, in 2008 Co-Curator of the Yokohama Triennial and, since 2010, as a member of the think tank core group of the LUMA foundation, co-organizes projects and group exhibitions in Arles. Ruf has a remarkably extensive, close-knit network that spans continents, disciplines and generations. Her faultless eye for young talent and infallible radar for the ‘zeitgeist’ make her an in-demand jury member and expert for public and independent collections. For over a decade, as art expert to the Zürich-based collection of the  Ringier AG, Ruf has been instrumental in developing one of Switzerland’s most important contemporary art collections. Currently, Ruf is a member of the Cultural Advisory Board of CERN, a Board Member of the MUMOK in Vienna and a Member of the art commission to the Swiss re-insurance Swiss Re. In 2013, Ruf acted as juror for the Absolut Art Award, and co-founded POOL in Zürich, a new institution and programme drawing on a ‘pool’ of works from private collections in order to develop and encourage emerging curatorial talent through stipends and exhibition productions. Ruf also is a mentor for both the University of St. Gallen and the University of the Arts in Zürich. Over the last 15 years, Ruf has become widely acknowledged as one of the most influential figures in the international art world. The American journal Art Review has named her as one of the top-ranking art professionals in its ‘Power Top 100’ for several years; in 2013, she was ranked number 7.  

Ruf has a clear and inspiring vision of art – including art collecting and preservation – artists, and the role that both play in society. She has an exceptional talent for communicating her vision to diverse audiences with great clarity and without compromising the complexity of the material and is aware of the importance of education. This, coupled with her engaging and open way of communicating, makes her a sought-after speaker, educator and influential figure in the world of contemporary art.

Ruf’s art-theoretical program is distinctive, radical and self-assured. At the Kunsthalle Zürich, she demonstrated her ability to translate her enthusiasm and bold vision into a shared responsibility, making her staff ‘co-own’ her goals and ambitions. Under her 13-year directorate, Kunsthalle Zürich metamorphosed into one of the world’s most eminent art institutions. Ruf’s transformation of the Kunsthalle Zürich and the development of the Löwenbräu Art Center, where it is now located permanently, was essential to the development of the city of Zürich into an internationally-renowned locus of contemporary art; resulting in numerous and, in some cases, substantial sponsorship deals. Ruf also managed Kunsthalle Zürich’s sizeable renovation project which was brought to fruition within the budgetary parameters.

During her directorate Ruf expanded the Kunsthalle, and streamlined the organizational and financial structures of what is known as the Löwenbräu Art Centre (a cluster of public and private institutions housed in industrial buildings on what is now a heritage site). Thanks to Ruf’s radical vision and tenacity, the Kunsthalle Zürich has become a hub placing it at the very heart of the city, its diversity of institutions, its universities, its many affluent collectors, sponsors and influential galleries, and its local and international artists.

For further details

Press Office Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Marie-José Raven and Annematt Ruseler, +31 (0)20 – 573 26 56/60, pressoffice@stedelijk.nl, m.raven@stedelijk.nl, a.ruseler@stedelijk.nl.

Press images Beatrix Ruf.