Biography
Klaus Biesenbach is Director of MoMA PS1, and Chief Curator at Large at MoMA, where he has organised major commissions like Pipilotti Rist: Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters) (2008) and retrospectives like Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2010). Prior to this he co-founded the Kunst-Werke (KW) Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin (1991) and the Berlin Biennale (1996). In 2006, Mr Biesenbach was named founding Chief Curator of MoMA’s newly formed Department of Media, which in 2009 he broadened to the Department of Media and Performance Art.
Among the many recent exhibitions Mr Biesenbach has organised or co-organised internationally are Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960–1971 and Björk at MoMA (2015), Wael Shawky: Cabaret Crusades, Zero Tolerance, Korakrit Arunanondchai and Francesco Vezzoli: Teatro Romano, MoMA PS1 (all 2014), Rockaway!, Fort Tilden, New York (2014), 11, 12, 13, 14 Rooms (with Hans Ulrich Obrist) in Manchester, Essen, Sydney, Basel (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014),Christoph Schlingensief and EXPO 1: New York, MoMA and MoMA PS1 (both 2013), Cyprien Gaillard: The Crystal World, MoMA PS1 (2013), Kraftwerk: Retrospective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and Antony and the Johnsons: Swanlights, MoMA (both 2012), Rania Stephan, Ryan Trecartin: Any Ever and Laurel Nakadate: Only the Lonely , MoMA PS1 (all 2011), Francis Alÿs: A Story of Deception MoMA and MoMA PS1 (2011), 100 Years of Performance at The Julia Stoschek Foundation, Düsseldorf, MoMA PS1 and the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow (2009–10), Andy Warhol: Motion Pictures and Performance 9: Allora & Calzadilla, MoMA (both 2010), Greater New York, MoMA PS1 (2000, 2005, and 2010), Performance 4: Roman Ondak and Performance 1: Tehching Hsieh, MoMA (both 2009), Jonathan Horowitz: And/Or and Kenneth Anger, MoMA PS1 (both 2009), Doug Aitken: sleepwalkers (co-commissioned with Creative Time), MoMA (2007), Fassbinder: Berlin Alexanderplatz at KW and MoMA PS1 (2007), Douglas Gordon: Timeline, MoMA (2006), Into Me/ Out of Me at MoMA PS1, KW, and Macro Rome (2006), Regarding Terror: The Red Army Faction Exhibition, KW (2005), Roth Time: A Dieter Roth Retrospective, MoMA PS1 and MoMA QNS (2004), the Shanghai Biennale (2002), Mexico City: An Exhibition about the Exchange Rate of Bodies and Values, KW and MoMA PS1 (2002), Disasters of War, MoMA PS1 (2000), Hybrid Workspace, documenta X, Kassel (1997), Projected Images and Club Berlin, Venice Biennale (1995) and 37 Rooms in Berlin (1992). Mr Biesenbach received International Association of Art Critics (AICA) awards for the exhibitions Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present, Pipilotti Rist: Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters) and Fassbinder: Berlin Alexanderplatz. He also received AICA awards for co curating the exhibitions Kenneth Anger, 100 Years (version #2, ps1, nov 2009) and Roth Time: A Dieter Roth Retrospective.