Chus Martínez appointed Artistic Director of the 36th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts

Chus Martínez was born in Spain and has a background in philosophy and art history. She is currently Head of the Institute Art Gender Nature, Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW in Switzerland, and Associate Curator of TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary.

Martínezis a board member of CIMAM (International Committee for Museums) and serves on the advisory boards of numerous international art institutions, including Castello di Rivoli, Turin and Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin. She was Chief Curator at El Museo Del Barrio, New York and Head of Department at dOCUMENTA (13). Previously, she was Chief Curator at MACBA, Barcelona, and Director of Frankfurter Kunstverein. Martínez has prepared many exhibitions and publications on contemporary artists. She is a lecturer and author of numerous catalogue texts and critical essays, and writes regularly for international art journals. 

In announcing Martínez’s appointment, Nevenka Šivavec, Artistic Director and CEO of MGLC, states: “With its 36th edition, the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts celebrates its seventieth anniversary, and we are delighted to have Chus Martínez with us for this truly honourable jubilee. We believe that her vision is of great importance to the Ljubljana Biennale at this particular moment in history. Chus Martínez dares to think about art through emotion and in relation to nature, gender and technology, often even in the future tense, as she is always excited about the possible contexts in which artists yet to come will be able to make art. By questioning who art is for and whom it addresses, Chus Martínez boldly breaks out of the cocoon of contemporary art and is also able to imagine an audience that cannot or does not want to establish any relationship with cultural production, or is completely alienated from it.”

Chus Martínez, assuming the role of Artistic Director of the Ljubljana Biennale, says: “More than ever, local biennials are fundamental when it comes to providing models of exhibition- making that are capable of motivating artists but also of invigorating the social communities around us. The graphic arts are another name for a genre that aims to tell and give a voice to the stories and values that we then read collectively. As we live on the edge of a great divide, we need to focus on creating a space in culture capable of lessening anger and resentment, capable of provoking an experience of reconciliation. I am deeply honoured to have been granted this unique opportunity.”

Main Image: Photo Gina Folly.