Short biographies of the participants
Shifting Perspectives – Streaming Festival Dedicated to the Work of Franz Erhard Walther
In the context of the retrospective "Franz Erhard Walther. Shifting Perspectives" and in cooperation with the Franz Erhard Walther Foundation, Haus der Kunst is dedicating a day-long streaming festival to the artist’s oeuvre. Tracing the artist’s historical and contemporary relevance of his work, the event will feature live activations of seminal works, an artist’s talk with researchers and exhibition organizers, interviews with some of the artist’s collaborators as well as two panel discussions
Susanne Walther
Chairwoman of the Franz Erhard Walther Foundation
Susanne Walther studied Theatre Studies, Art, and Philosophy. In 1996, she married Franz Erhard Walther. In 2007, she established the Franz Erhard Walther Foundation, of which she is Chairwoman. Since 2008, she has been responsible for the realisation of all solo exhibitions and projects regarding the work of F. E. Walther.
Jana Baumann
Senior Curator, Haus der Kunst
Jana Baumann is Senior Curator at Haus der Kunst in Munich, where she is responsible for, among others, the exhibition Franz Erhard Walther. Shifting Perspectives (2020), Miriam Cahn and Monira Al Qadiri. She is the publisher of the exhibition catalog on Franz Erhard Walther. Jana Baumann received her doctorate on the subject of the Museum as Avant-garde.
Erik Verhagen
Professor of Contemporary Art History at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, Valenciennes
Erik Verhagen is professor of Contemporary Art History at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France in Valenciennes (France), independent curator, and art critic. His writings have appeared in artpress and Les Cahiers du Musée national d’art moderne. He is co-publisher of the publication Franz Erhard Walther. Dialogues (2017).
Catherine Wood
Senior Curator, International Art (Performance), Tate Modern, London
Since 2003, Catherine Wood has been responsible for performance works at the Tate Modern by artists such as Mark Leckey, Anne Imhof, Yvonne Rainer, and Sturtevant. In 2011, she initiated the online project ‘Performance Room’. Her articles regularly appear in the art journals Afterall, Artforum, and Mousse.
Gregor Quack
PhD Candidate at Yale University, New Haven
The art historian and critic is currently writing his PhD on The Social Fabric. Franz Erhard Walther’s Art at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He also works as a free-lance curator and regularly writes art critiques for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Artforum, Art Papers, and October.
Gaëtane Verna
Director, The Power Plant, Toronto
Since 2012, Gaëtane Verna has been the Director of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto, where she curated the exhibition Franz Erhard Walther. Call to Action in 2016. Previously, she was Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Musée d’art de Joliette (2006–12). From 1998 to 2006, she was Curator of the Foreman Art Gallery at Bishop’s University, Quebec.
Johanna Walther
Textile Engineer and Contributor to the Œuvre of Franz Erhard Walther
Johanna Walther is a trained textile engineer. In 1958, she met Franz Erhard Walther at the Galerie Junge Kunst in Fulda and married him in 1964. Since March 1963, she has been sewing Franz Erhard Walther’s work in close cooperation with the artist and has been a key contributor to the development of his work.
Gregory Williams
Associate Professor of Contemporary and Modern Art at Boston University
Gregory H. Williams researches art produced in the German-speaking countries since 1945. He publishes on international artists in relation to globalisation, exhibition culture, humour, and politics.
Yasmil Raymond
Rector, Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule
Yasmil Raymond was appointed Rector of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule and Director of the Portikus in April 2020. Previously, she was Associate Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2015-19) and Curator at the Dia Art Foundation, New York (2009-15), where she curated the exhibition Franz Erhard Walther. Work as Action (2012).
Christian Rattemeyer
Former Director, SculptureCenter, New York
Christian Rattemeyer was Director of the SculptureCenter in New York until September 2020, after having worked at The Museum of Modern Art in New York as the Harvey S. Shipley Miller Associate Curator in the Department of Drawings & Prints since 2007. He is author of F. E. Walther: Objects, to Use, Instruments for Processes, published in the context of the eponymous exhibition at the Museo Jumex, Mexico City, 2018.
