Hans Ulrich Obrist

With: Hans Ulrich Obrist, art historian, contemporary art critic, and exhibition curator, and Laure Adler, journalist, essayist, editor, and producer.

For the release of his autobiographical book Une vie in progress, the Fondation Cartier and Seuil Editions are pleased to invite the curator, historian, and art critic Hans Ulrich Obrist. Known for his collection of conversations with artists and thinkers from all over the world, he in turn lends himself to an interview with Laure Adler and looks back on his career within the very institution that offered him, at the start of his journey in 1991, his first residency abroad.

Hans Ulrich Obrist has recorded thousands of interviews with the best creators, artists, musicians, writers, thinkers, and philosophers. He is one of the most internationally renowned exhibition curators. Beginning in his teenage years, he began to travel across Europe, on night trains, to visit artist studios, where the essentials of art and its mysteries can sometimes be found. “I have always been inspired by the idea of being in the middle of things but in the center of nothing.”

Yet, who really knows Hans Ulrich Obrist? Curious and enthusiastic about everything, but very discreet, he has finally agreed to talk about himself. Between rituals, beliefs, convictions, and impulsive decisions, the public can begin to understand the consistency of his choices, and the desire to constantly renew himself.

Close to the Fondation Cartier, where he notably presented many of his Infinite Conversations (marathon discussions), we are happy to welcome Hans Ulrich Obrist for the publication of this autobiographical book. Now, it’s his turn to answer questions, in dialogue with Laure Adler. The discussion will be followed by a book signing.

Biographies

Born in 1968 in Zurich, Hans Ulrich Obrist is the artistic director of the Serpentine Gallery in London and main advisor to the Fondation LUMA in Arles. He was previously the curator of the Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first exhibition World Soup (The Kitchen Show) in 1991, he has curated over 350 exhibitions.

Born in 1950 in Caen, Laure Adler is a journalist, biographer, essayist, editor, and radio and TV producer. She joined France Culture radio station in 1974 and became director from 1999 to 2005. In the publishing sphere, she was responsible for the literary section of Grasset Publications in the 1990s, and for Seuil between 2006 and 2007. Her own literary production comprises biographies of renowned women and works of fiction. In 2023, she co-wrote and directed with Jérémy Frey, a film entitled La Révolte des vieux.