Innovative Exhibitions
Glance Winter 2007 64 / 65
2005 he received the inaugural Ordway Prize: $100,000 awarded by the Penny McCall Foundation. In the spring of 2006 Rugoff moved on from the Wattis and accepted his current position as director of the Hayward Gallery in London. And from London comes our new director, Jens Hoffmann, former director of exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). It’s clear the dialog among artists, viewers, and culture continues to hold great potential for remaking the spaces and practices around us.
2002 Capp Street Project: Jeremy Deller Capp Street Project: Shirley Tse Generosity Projects How Extraordinary That the World Exists! Michel Blazy Reality Check Rock My World Sudden Glory To Whom It May Concern 2003
Jens Hoffmann newly appointed director of the Wattis Institute
One of my primary interests is the connection of the Wattis Institute with the college. I’m planning to build a strong relationship with CCA’s Program in Curatorial Practice as well as other academic programs. There will be a mix of local, national, and international group and solo exhibitions, with an emphasis on San Francisco and the Bay Area as inspiration for developing new exhibitions and formats. One project I’m in the process of developing for the Wattis is called Americana, encompassing 50 shows, with each month-long show representing an individual state and presented in a space designed specifically for this exhibition. The Wattis Institute programs will continue with investigations into curatorial practice that Larry Rinder and Ralph Rugoff began during their tenure as directors, and expand upon these concerns through investigations in unconventional exhibition formats, participatory ideas, and very close collaboration with artists. In addition, I’m working to establish an international network through collaborations with other art institutions to co-produce and tour exhibitions. Writer, curator, and artist Seth Sieglaub wrote, “Art has to change what one expects from it.” In describing the future programs of the Wattis Institute, I could say, “Exhibitions have to change what one expects from them.”
Capp Street Project: 20th Anniversary Exhibition The Gray Area Mixtapes Uncertain Images Warped Space 2004 Baja to Vancouver Capp Street Project: Brian Jungen Likeness 2005 Anthony Burdin A Brief History of Invisible Art Capp Street Project: Jeanne Dunning Capp Street Project: Tariq Alvi General Ideas Irreducible Monuments for the USA Repetition 2006 Capp Street Project: Michael Stevenson How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later Humans Were Here! (Building in L.A.) Prophets of Deceit Radical Software Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress