Ralph Rugoff, the curator of the 2019 Venice Biennale, is set to leave his post as director of the Hayward Gallery after 20 years leading the London institution.
The Southbank Centre, the organization that runs the Hayward Gallery, said that Rugoff would depart the museum in the spring of next year. Its announcement of his departure said he would continue to work as an independent curator and writer.
Rugoff is most famous internationally for his 2019 Biennale, which saw the 79 artists included—a relatively low number for the world’s biggest art festival—each show at least two works in two different locations. The conceit memorably responded to a polarized political climate, but the exhibition received a mixed response. In ARTnews, Andrew Russeth wrote that the exhibition was “weirdly uneven,” even though it contained many “astonishing visual moments.”
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Within London, Rugoff is better known for directing the Hayward Gallery since 2006. During that time, the institution staged well-received shows such as “Kiss My Genders!,” a 2019 survey of how artists today contend with gender fluidity in their work, and surveys for Kader Attia and Tracey Emin.
The institution’s rich programming led to acclaim for Rugoff, who was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2019. He was also on the selection committee for the 2010 British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and the jury for the 2013 Turner Prize.
Prior to joining the Hayward Gallery in 2006, the American-born curator led the Wattis Institute for
Contemporary Art, a taste-making San Francisco art space known for its slate of experimental exhibitions.
“Over the past two decades it’s been deeply rewarding to exhibit, commission and publish some of the world’s most compelling artists; to have the support of truly inspiring art patrons, philanthropists and collectors; and to partner with great museums and art organizations around the world,” Rugoff said in a statement. “I believe the Hayward’s program has made a positive contribution to what has been an era of remarkable change in the contemporary art landscape. I very much look forward to watching its next chapter unfold.”