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Thaddaeus Ropac

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Thaddaeus Ropac (born in 1960,January 16, Klagenfurt, Austria), is a gallerist specializing in International Contemporary art. He founded Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in 1983 and represents more than 60 International artists today with his galleries in Salzburg (Austria), Paris Marais, Pantin (France) and London (coming soon).

Ropac was raised in Carinthia, Austria's southernmost state. He initially unearthed his passion for art on a school trip to the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna Museum of Art) and went on to serve his first internship with Joseph Beuys in 1982. While in New York, Ropac became acquainted with young artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Ropac opened his first gallery in Salzburg at the age of 23 in 1983, followed by a second one in Paris Marais seven years later. Launched in 1990 with one exhibition room, Ropac's space today stretches across three floors on Rue Debelleyme in Paris's Marais neighborhood. Today his galleries represent some of the most important Austrian artists, such as Erwin Wurm, Hubert Scheibl, Gerwald Rockenschaub and Arnulf Rainer, as well as international artists like Georg Baselitz, Alex Katz, and Anselm Kiefer. In 2012, Ropac renovated a 1900 former heating systems factory in Pantin,[1] in the east of Paris, and transformed its eight buildings to make exhibition halls, a performance centre, a library/archive, a viewing room and artists’ studios.[2]

The gallery organizes extensive solo and group exhibitions, often accompanied by comprehensive publications, not only in its own premises, but also in collaboration with major international museums and other non-commercial art institutions. Between 2005 and 2011, in partnership with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, Ropac asked Hedi Slimane, Robert Wilson,[3] and Sofia Coppola to act as guest curators and to select a series of the foundation's images for three gallery shows.[4] The Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac is present at all major contemporary art fairs including, the Armory Show in New York, the Art Basel fairs in Basel, Miami and Hong Kong, Frieze Art Fair in London and New York and the FIAC in Paris.

In May 2008, the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna received 17 works of art[5] by Julius Deutschbauer, Walter Obholzer, Gerwald Rockenschaub, Hubert Scheibl and Erwin Wurm, among others, from Ropac's personal collection. In November 2009, the MdM (Museum der Moderne) in Salzburg organized an exhibition of the 25 works of art donated by Thaddaeus Ropac to the Museum’s permanent collection, which includes works by German, Swiss and Austrian artists.[6]

In 2012 he opens a gallery in Pantin in the northeast edge of Paris. Ropac wanted to create a magical space to show monumental artworks that was accessible from Paris by metro.

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac will open a gallery in Ely House in Mayfair, London, in Spring 2017.

Public offices

Ropac is a member of the Advisory Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Vienna, of the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) (Vienna), of the European University of Science & Art (Salzburg) and the Salzburg International Festival. Since 2009, Thaddaeus Ropac has been nominated President of the Board of Trustees of the Salzburg Foundation, which encourages the display of art in public places.

Recognition

In 2005, Ropac was named Officier dans L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by French President Jacques Chirac for significant contribution to the arts. In November 2006, he received the gold cross from the Austrian Republic (VERLEIHUNG GOLDENES VERDIENSTKREUZ DER REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH AN THADDAEUS ROPAC IM BUNDESKANZLERAMT). The Chamber of Commerce in Salzburg awarded him the Art and Culture prize in August 2007 (Kunst und Kulturpreis der Salzburger Wirtschaft).

In 2009, the annual chart compiled by the British magazine Art Review called Thaddaeus Ropac "one of Europe’s foremost blue-chip gallerists."[7]

In 2013, Thaddaeus Ropac was made Knight of the Legion of Honour in France.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ Valérie Duponchelle (10 September 2012), Thaddaeus Ropac :«Les artistes ont tous les droits» Le Figaro.
  2. ^ Georgina Adam (12 May 2012), Price limits? An abstract concept Financial Times.
  3. ^ Robert Mapplethorpe Curated by Robert Wilson ropac.net
  4. ^ Grégory Picard (2 December 2011), Sofia Coppola Curates a Show of Rare Photos by Robert Mapplethorpe in Paris ARTINFO.
  5. ^ Orangery, Lower Belvedere: Donations to the Belvedere. Belvedere Museum, Exhibition 2008.
  6. ^ The Art Newspaper, Museum der Moderne Salzburg Mönchsberg: Donations by Thaddaeus Ropac, 24 November 2009.
  7. ^ Art Review : November 2009, Issue 36.
  8. ^ Louvre pour tous (January, 2012), Culture : les décorés de la Légion d’honneur du nouvel an 2013 louvrepourtous.fr.

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