I’m trying to expand the notion of curating. Exhibitions need not only take place in galleries, need not only involve displaying objects. Art can appear where we expect it least. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I think the art fair is very much a form of urbanism. I think something really happens to the cities when such a fair happens. The city becomes an exhibition; it’s amazing. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
Many artists have not been able to realise their fondest projects. My role is to help them. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I see a curator as a catalyst, generator and motivator – a sparring partner, accompanying the artist while they build a show, and a bridge builder, creating a bridge to the public. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
Switzerland felt incredibly narrow, growing up. It was good, in a way. There were so many museums. But it was always a no-brainer that I would have to leave, and I’m grateful for that. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I founded a club, which is called the Brutally Early Club. It’s basically a breakfast salon for the 21st century where art meets science meets architecture meets literature. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
Mr. Koons’s work has always inspired architects, which I think is very interesting. I think he is an artist who has reinvented himself so many times and reinvented so many different series. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I still remember my first Giacometti exhibition, and going back to the museum every day, whenever I could, to look again and again at these long, thin stick figures, so beautiful, so graceful. That, I think, was the moment I became really obsessed by art. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
Exhibitions are kind of ephemeral moments, sometimes magic moments, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
From 1991 to 2000, I was totally nomadic. I was travelling 300 days a year and building out my research. These were a bit like my learning and migrating years, so to say. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
To keep art stimulating, it’s important to open it up to new horizons, which includes showing it in unexpected contexts. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
At a certain time, an artist needs a big retrospective. At other times, they need a more focused exhibition. It’s a different story each time; it’s about establishing a dialogue. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
My job is art curator, not artist. All I have ever wanted to do is immerse myself in art, to enjoy it, to learn about it, to write about it, to talk to others about it. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
When I was 17, I met many artists, and it started to become this conversation with artists out of which all of my exhibitions grew. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I would go from one city to the next, inspired by the monks in the Middle Ages, who would carry knowledge from one monastery to the next monastery. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
My most famous show is the ‘Kitchen Show.’ More famous than any gallery show or museum show I curated. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I spent 250 to 300 days of every year on the road. But in the end, I felt something was missing. I needed to be anchored so I could concentrate, so in 2000, I established a new methodology – the one I use today. I spent the week in my office and travelled every weekend, even at Christmas. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I started going to exhibitions in Switzerland when I was 10 or 11. As a schoolboy, I would go every afternoon to see the long, thin figures of Giacometti. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
One of my favourite exhibitions is called ‘Do It,’ which I co-curated with the artists Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier 21 years ago. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I read whenever possible, and I buy books all the time, sometimes online, but mostly from bookshops. I love literature. If you want to understand art, it’s important to understand what is also happening in literature, in music, in science, in architecture. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I went to the studio of Fischli Weiss, and it was magical. I thought: ‘This is what I want to do with my life; I want to work with artists and be useful to them.’ I was magnetically attracted. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
I remember going to a monastery library when I was very young and being surrounded by ancient books. I fell in love. – Hans-Ulrich Obrist
