Gregor Muir
Encyclopedia
Gregor Muir is the Executive Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts
in London. He was previously director of one of the branches of the commercial art gallery Hauser & Wirth
, in London (196A Piccadilly). He is author of the 2009 memoir "Lucky Kunst," in which he recalls experiences in the YBA art scene and life in 1990s London.
where he worked on numerous film and video acquisitions for Tate
Collections, as well as curating museum displays of contemporary art from the Tate Collection, including a special focus on Robert Morris' 1971 Tate Gallery
exhibition and Carl Andre
's 'Equivalent' series ("the bricks"). Along with Jessica Morgan he co-curated the exhibition 'Time Zones' at Tate Modern
, one of the museum's first exhibitions dedicated to the moving image, as well as 'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida' at Tate Britain
with Damien Hirst
, Angus Fairhurst
and Sarah Lucas
.
Whilst in post at Hauser & Wirth
, Muir has organized exhibitions of Francis Picabia
, Henry Moore
and emerging artists such as Jakub Julian Ziolkowski and Zhang Enli
. He has also curated group exhibitions such as 'Old School' bringing together seminal paintings by Old and Contemporary Masters such as Bruegel
, Cranach
, Currin and Peyton
. In 2005, he curated 'London in Zurich' at Hauser & Wirth
Zurich, featuring works by Lali Chetwynd
, Djordje Ozbolt, Daniel Sinsel and Anj Smith
.
In 1997 was employed at the Lux Gallery in Hoxton Square
, in the emerging cultural quarter of Shoreditch
, he showed works by artist such as Kutlug Ataman
and Carsten Holler
.
In 1997, he co-curated 'Assuming Positions' at the ICA London, featuring works by Jorge Pardo, Tobias Rehberger and Piotr Uklanski. Between 1996 and 1997 he curated the video programs 'Speaking of Sofas' and 'A Small Shifting Sphere of Serious Culture', including works by Tacita Dean
, Peter Doig
, Gillian Wearing
and Jane & Louise Wilson. In 1994 he curated 'Liar', featuring works by Cerith Wyn Evans
and Jake and Dinos Chapman
, and in 1993 he curated 'Lucky Kunst', featuring artists such as Gary Hume
and Sam Taylor-Wood
.
He has also been a writer for numerous artist catalogues, as well as having previously contributed to parkett and frieze magazine.
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
in London. He was previously director of one of the branches of the commercial art gallery Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth is one of the world's leading contemporary art galleries. In addition to representing over 40 established and emerging artists, the gallery represents the estates of Eva Hesse, Allan Kaprow, Lee Lozano, Jason Rhoades, Dieter Roth and André Thomkins, as well as the Henry Moore Family...
, in London (196A Piccadilly). He is author of the 2009 memoir "Lucky Kunst," in which he recalls experiences in the YBA art scene and life in 1990s London.
Life and career
Between 2001 and 2003, Muir was the Pamela and Richard Kramlich Curator of Contemporary Art at Tate ModernTate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
where he worked on numerous film and video acquisitions for Tate
Tate
-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
Collections, as well as curating museum displays of contemporary art from the Tate Collection, including a special focus on Robert Morris' 1971 Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
exhibition and Carl Andre
Carl Andre
Carl Andre is an American minimalist artist recognized for his ordered linear format and grid format sculptures. His sculptures range from large public artworks to more intimate tile patterns arranged on the floor of an exhibition space Carl Andre (born September 16, 1935) is an American...
's 'Equivalent' series ("the bricks"). Along with Jessica Morgan he co-curated the exhibition 'Time Zones' at Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
, one of the museum's first exhibitions dedicated to the moving image, as well as 'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida' at Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
with Damien Hirst
Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst is an English artist, entrepreneur and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists , who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly Britain's richest living artist,...
, Angus Fairhurst
Angus Fairhurst
Angus Fairhurst was an English artist working in installation, photography and video. He was one of the Young British Artists .-Life and work:Angus Fairhurst was born in Pembury, Kent...
and Sarah Lucas
Sarah Lucas
Sarah Lucas is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s...
.
Whilst in post at Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth is one of the world's leading contemporary art galleries. In addition to representing over 40 established and emerging artists, the gallery represents the estates of Eva Hesse, Allan Kaprow, Lee Lozano, Jason Rhoades, Dieter Roth and André Thomkins, as well as the Henry Moore Family...
, Muir has organized exhibitions of Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French painter, poet, and typographist, associated with both the Dada and Surrealist art movements.- Early life :...
, Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
and emerging artists such as Jakub Julian Ziolkowski and Zhang Enli
Zhang Enli
Zhang Enli is a professional artist living and working in Shanghai. In 1989, he graduated from the Arts & Design Institute of Wuxi Technical University, China, and teaches at the Arts and Design Institute of Donghua University.-His Life:Zhang Enli’s work is heavily marked by the personal...
. He has also curated group exhibitions such as 'Old School' bringing together seminal paintings by Old and Contemporary Masters such as Bruegel
Bruegel
Bruegel is an independent economic think tank, based in Brussels. It focuses on economic policy. Bruegel's governance and funding model relies on memberships from Member States of the European Union, international corporations, and other institutions....
, Cranach
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
, Currin and Peyton
Peyton
Peyton is an English surname. The Gaelic variation in Ireland is Ó Peatáin. Peyton may refer to:-Surname:*Peyton, American singer*Craig Peyton , American producer*Elizabeth Peyton , American painter...
. In 2005, he curated 'London in Zurich' at Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth
Hauser & Wirth is one of the world's leading contemporary art galleries. In addition to representing over 40 established and emerging artists, the gallery represents the estates of Eva Hesse, Allan Kaprow, Lee Lozano, Jason Rhoades, Dieter Roth and André Thomkins, as well as the Henry Moore Family...
Zurich, featuring works by Lali Chetwynd
Lali Chetwynd
Lali "Spartacus" Chetwynd is a British artist. She reworks iconic moments from cultural history in deliberately amateurish and improvisatory performances.-Life:...
, Djordje Ozbolt, Daniel Sinsel and Anj Smith
Anj Smith
Anj Smith is an artist.Born in Kent in the UK, Smith studied in England at Slade School of Fine Art and Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in London.Anj Smith creates paintings which are often executed on a small scale and highly detailed...
.
In 1997 was employed at the Lux Gallery in Hoxton Square
Hoxton Square
Hoxton Square is a garden square situated in Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney, in London's East End. Formerly home to industrial premises, since the 1990s it has become the heart of the Hoxton arts and media scene, as well as being a hub of the thriving local entertainment district...
, in the emerging cultural quarter of Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, he showed works by artist such as Kutlug Ataman
Kutlug Ataman
Kutluğ Ataman is a filmmaker and contemporary artist. He lives in Istanbul.-Life and career:Kutluğ Ataman received his school education in Istanbul before doing his university studies in the US. His interest in film started an early age, and led him to do film studies at UCLA where he graduated...
and Carsten Holler
Carsten Höller
Carsten Höller is a German artist. He lives and works in Farsta, Stockholm, in Sweden. Today, he also shares a house in Ghana with colleague Marcel Odenbach.-Early life and education:...
.
In 1997, he co-curated 'Assuming Positions' at the ICA London, featuring works by Jorge Pardo, Tobias Rehberger and Piotr Uklanski. Between 1996 and 1997 he curated the video programs 'Speaking of Sofas' and 'A Small Shifting Sphere of Serious Culture', including works by Tacita Dean
Tacita Dean
Tacita Dean is an English visual artist who works primarily in film. She is one of the Young British Artists, and was a nominee for the Turner Prize in 1998.-Life and work:...
, Peter Doig
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
, Gillian Wearing
Gillian Wearing
Gillian Wearing OBE RA is an English conceptual artist, one of the YBAs, and winner of the annual British fine arts award, The Turner Prize, in 1997. On 11 December 2007, Wearing was elected as lifetime member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London....
and Jane & Louise Wilson. In 1994 he curated 'Liar', featuring works by Cerith Wyn Evans
Cerith Wyn Evans
Cerith Wyn Evans is a Welsh conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker.After studying at Saint Martin's School of Art and the Royal College of Art Wyn Evans worked as an assistant to Derek Jarman and his early experimental film work in the 1980s often concentrated on dancers including...
and Jake and Dinos Chapman
Jake and Dinos Chapman
Iakovos "Jake" Chapman and Konstantinos "Dinos" Chapman are English visual artists, often known as the Chapman Brothers, who work together as a collaborative sibling duo...
, and in 1993 he curated 'Lucky Kunst', featuring artists such as Gary Hume
Gary Hume
Gary Stewart Hume is an English artist. His work is strongly identified with the YBA artists who came to prominence in the early-1990s. In 1996, Hume was nominated for the Turner Prize, but lost out to Douglas Gordon. Hume was elected a Royal Academician in 2001.-Life and work:Hume was born in...
and Sam Taylor-Wood
Sam Taylor-Wood
Samantha "Sam" Taylor-Wood OBE , born Samantha Taylor, is an English filmmaker, photographer, and visual artist. Her directorial feature film debut came in 2009 with Nowhere Boy, a film based on the childhood experiences of The Beatles songwriter and singer John Lennon...
.
He has also been a writer for numerous artist catalogues, as well as having previously contributed to parkett and frieze magazine.
External links
- http://www.hauserwirth.com/
- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lucky-Kunst-Story-Gregor-Muir/dp/1845133900