Hans Ulrich Obrist to be feted by appraisers group

Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of Serpentine Galleries, London. © Dave Benett

NEW YORK – The Appraisers Association of America will present Hans Ulrich Obrist, the artistic director of Serpentine Galleries, with the 2018 Award for Excellence in the Arts at the organization’s 14th annual Award Luncheon on April 18 at the New York Athletic Club. Obrist will be joined by keynote speaker Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, and will be in conversation with the artist Ian Cheng.

“It is said that no one sees more art, talks with more artists or writes more about art than our 2018 honoree Hans Ulrich Obrist. Through his insatiable desire to digest information, art related and other, Hans facilitates our understanding and appreciation of the work we experience,” said Linda Selvin, executive director of the Appraisers Association of America.

“We are grateful for this opportunity to recognize his enormous contributions to contemporary culture. Additionally, we are pleased to have the Honorable Michael Bloomberg present the keynote address. Mr. Bloomberg has a lifelong dedication to the arts, locally and internationally and holds the position of chairman of the Serpentine Galleries, where Hans is the artistic director. We are excited to have them with us as well as the artist Ian Chang,” added Selvin.

Since the inaugural Award Luncheon in 2005, this event has grown to include over 300 guests, with leaders in the arts, financial, and legal professions gathering to recognize visionary contributions made to the arts.

Past honorees include curator and dealer Jeffrey Deitch, artist Frank Stella, artists Emilia and Ilya Kabakov, art critic Peter Schjeldahl, artist Ai Weiwei, art historian Linda Nochlin, gallerist Arne Glimcher, collector/philanthropist Martin Margulies, former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Thomas Krens, art historian John Richardson, historian Wendell D. Garrett, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and arts educator and museum founder Susan Weber.

Obrist (b. 1968, Zürich, Switzerland) is the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries, London, and co-founder of 89plus. Prior to this, he was the curator of the MusÉe d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first show “World Soup (The Kitchen Show)” in 1991, he has curated more than 300 exhibitions.

Obrist has lectured internationally at academic and art institutions and is a contributing editor to the magazines Artforum, AnOther Magazine, 032C, a regular contributor to Mousse and Kaleidoscope and he writes columns for Das Magazin and Weltkunst. In 2011 he received the CCS Bard Award for curatorial excellence, and in 2015 he was awarded the International Folkwang Prize for his commitment to the arts.

For further information about the event visit www.appraisersassociation.org/luncheon, or contact Linda Selvin, executive director, Appraisers Association of America at 212-889-5404, ext. 12 or via email at lselvin@appraisersassociation.org.