Massimiliano Gioni

Massimiliano Gioni
Name	Massimiliano Gioni
Birth date	1973
Birth place	Milan, Italy
Occupation	Curator, writer, artistic director
Known for	Contemporary art curatorship, biennials, exhibition-making

Massimiliano Gioni is an Italian curator, critic, and museum director known for leading major contemporary art institutions and international exhibitions. He has directed curatorial projects across Europe and the United States, collaborating with artists, critics, collectors, and institutions to shape contemporary art discourse. Gioni's practice bridges curatorial writing, exhibition-making, and artistic collaborations with an emphasis on outsider art, historical research, and multimedia presentations.

Early life and education

Gioni was born in Milan and raised in Italy, where he engaged with local museums such as the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Museo del Novecento. He studied in Italian contexts influenced by institutions like the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and absorbed practices from exhibitions at the Triennale di Milano and galleries including Galleria Continua and Poggio Bruzzi. Early exposure to publications such as Flash Art, Artforum, and Art in America shaped his interests alongside encounters with figures connected to Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Giorgio Morandi, and Giuseppe Penone. During formative years he interacted with collectors and dealers associated with Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Fondazione Prada, and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

Curatorial career

Gioni began his curatorial trajectory working with galleries and non-profit spaces linked to curators and critics from the networks of Hans Ulrich Obrist, Robert Storr, Daniel Birnbaum, and Achille Bonito Oliva. He curated projects involving artists shown at the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Stedelijk Museum, and Kunsthaus Zürich. Collaborations included institutions such as Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Performa, New Museum, Whitechapel Gallery, and Serpentine Galleries. Gioni's curatorial output engaged with historical figures from the Dada and Situationist International movements, while dialoguing with contemporary practitioners represented by Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, and regional galleries like Magazzino Italian Art.

Major exhibitions and biennials

He served as curator and artistic director for large-scale exhibitions at events linked to the networks of Venice Biennale, São Paulo Bienal, Documenta, and Berlin Biennale. Notable projects referenced artists associated with Marina Abramović, Cindy Sherman, Isa Genzken, Eric Fischl, Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, and Ai Weiwei. Gioni organized thematic exhibitions that connected archives such as the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, repositories like the Archive of Modern Conflict, and libraries including the Biblioteca Ambrosiana. His biennial and exhibition programs were hosted in venues like the Palazzo Grassi, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Punta della Dogana, and the New Museum.

Directorships and institutional roles

Gioni has held leadership positions in organizations connected to the New Museum network, liaising with boards composed of trustees from Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Institutional roles extended to advisory work for Fondazione Prada, Tate Modern, Fondation Louis Vuitton, and the Kunsthalle Basel. He collaborated with funding bodies such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, European Cultural Foundation, and municipal bodies of Venice and Milan on public-program initiatives and acquisitions.

Publications and writings

Gioni has contributed essays to catalogs and periodicals including Artforum, Frieze, Artnews, The New York Times, and The Guardian. His writing referenced artists in monographs and exhibition catalogs devoted to figures like Francis Bacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Marcel Broodthaers, and Joseph Beuys. He edited and co-authored publications distributed by publishers such as Phaidon, Skira, Thames & Hudson, and Rizzoli. Gioni participated in symposia at universities and museums including Columbia University, Yale University, Harvard University, Courtauld Institute, and Royal College of Art, contributing texts to institutional catalogs for MoMA PS1, Whitney Museum of American Art, Institute of Contemporary Arts, and Fondazione Merz.

Artistic practice and collaborations

Beyond curating, Gioni engaged in collaborations with contemporary artists, writers, and composers connected to Laurie Anderson, Christian Marclay, Anri Sala, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Hito Steyerl, and Cory Arcangel. He worked on projects that intersected with performers from Royal Shakespeare Company and film programs involving filmmakers like Andy Warhol and Chantal Akerman. Collaborations extended to interdisciplinary initiatives with architects and designers associated with OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, Renzo Piano, and Norman Foster. Gioni’s projects often involved archives and outsider art sources such as the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Americans with Disabilities Act-era narratives, and networks around collectors like Samuel Dorsky and Eli Broad.

Category:Italian curators Category:Living people Category:1973 births