Hou Hanru
Hou Hanru is a Chinese-born art curator and art critic. He is based in San Francisco, Paris and Rome. He was artistic director of the National Museum MAXXI in Rome, Italy, from 2013 to 2023.
Early life and education
Hou Hanru was born in 1963, in Guangzhou, China. He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and moved to Paris in 1990.Career
Hou lived 16 years in France before moving to the United States in 2006. He worked at San Francisco Art Institute as Director of Exhibitions and Public Program and Chair of Exhibition and Museum Studies from 2006 to 2012. He is artistic director of MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome since 2013.Hou has curated numerous exhibitions including "Cities on the Move", Shanghai Biennale, Gwangju Biennale, Venice Biennale, Canton Express, Nuit Blanche, the 2nd Guangzhou Triennial, the 2nd Tirana Biennial, the 10th Istanbul Biennial, "Global Multitude", "TransCity", EV+A 2008, "The Spectacle of the Everyday, The 10th Lyon Biennale", the 5th Auckland Triennial, etc.
He has been consultant and advisor in many international institutions including Walker Art Center, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Kumamoto Museum of Contemporary Art, De Appel Foundation, Rockbund Art Museum, Times Museum, Today Art Museum, Power Station of Art, Deutsche Bank Collection, Kadist Art Foundation, Asia Art Archive, etc. and served in juries of many international awards including the Hugo Boss Prize, Chinese Contemporary Art Award, Ars Fennica, Credit Suisse/Today Art Award and Hugo Boss Prize China.
He has also taught and lectured in various artistic and educational institutions including Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, HISk, Forecast, as well as numerous universities and museums across the world.
A selection of his writings was published as "On The Mid-Ground" by Timezone 8, 2002. His recent books include "Paradigm Shifts, Walter & McBean Galleries exhibitions and public programs, San Francisco Art Institute, 2006-2011", San Francisco Art Institute, 2011. A frequent contributor to conferences, catalogues, magazines and books of contemporary art, he is also a guest editor for international art journals including Flash Art, YIshu, Art Asia Pacific and LEAP.