New Head of Contemporary Art Collection

Press Release
NEW HEAD OF CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTION

The Städel Museum has a new Head of its Collection of Contemporary Art: Svenja Grosser. At the Städel Museum since 2018, she has been responsible for the scholarly aspects of the collection as Deputy Head for the past three years and has curated numerous exhibitions—most recently “Victor Man. The Lines of Life” and “Ugo Rondinone. Sunrise. East.” Her research interests include contemporary painting, 20th and 21st century staged photography, museology, and gender theory. From 3 May 2024, she will present a new exhibition: “Muntean/Rosenblum. Mirror of Thoughts”.

“Since its foundation more than 200 years ago, the Städel Museum has continuously expanded its own collection, always with an eye to the respective artistic present. Today, art after 1945 with a focus on German painting in an international context can be experienced on more than 3,000 square metres in the Städel’s iconic Garden Halls. It is a particular pleasure for me to appoint Svenja Grosser as the new Head of the Contemporary Art Collection. She has distinguished herself through her outstanding expertise and her commitment to contemporary mediation. In future, she will continue to work intensively on the expansion of the collection and its public-orientated presentation”, comments Philipp Demandt, Director of the Städel Museum, on the appointment.

Svenja Grosser was born in Cologne in 1991 and studied Art History, German Philology, and Philosophy at the University of Bonn. She has been working at the Städel Museum since 2018. As project manager, she was jointly responsible for the new presentation of the Collection of Contemporary Art in 2020 and subsequently curated various exhibitions of contemporary artists, including Marc Brandenburg, Michael Müller, and Philipp Fürhofer. She has also written and edited numerous essays and publications to accompany these exhibitions. As co-initiator of the DigAMus Award-winning art and mediation space CLOSE UP and the digital application of the same name, Svenja Grosser is committed to a broad perception of and engagement with contemporary art. The event format “Städel Invites”, which she co-developed, offers the public the opportunity to meet contemporary artists and learn more about their motivations, ideas, and themes in dialogue. Grosser has already made several acquisitions for the Collection of Contemporary Art, including works by Louise Nevelson and Leiko Ikemura. She also regularly conceives thematic presentations of the collection within the permanent exhibition, placing works in new contexts.

“The Städel’s Collection of Contemporary Art is a place of inspiration and creativity for our visitors, as well as for me as head of the collection, which can provide answers to the questions of our time. In the coming years, I will be working on an exhibition programme with a feminist focus, as well as on thematic issues relating to contemporary painting and interventions across epochs. Current discourses and issues will be incorporated into the work with the collection, as will the wealth of knowledge gained from continuous observation of the contemporary art sector. I am delighted to have been appointed and to be able to continue to make this high-calibre collection accessible to a broad public,” emphasizes Svenja Grosser.

The detailed press information can be found here.