Christian Rattemeyer to Step Down as SculptureCenter Director

Director Christian Rattemeyer will be leaving SculptureCenter after holding the position for less than a year, announced the board of the Queens-based museum.

No reason has yet been given for his departure. “We thank Christian for his leadership, curatorial excellence, and global perspective,” said board president Carol Bove. “We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.” Kyle Dancewicz, SculptureCenter’s director of exhibitions and programs, will serve as interim director alongside the institution’s executive team and board.

“I want to thank the incredibly talented staff and leadership at SculptureCenter,” Rattemeyer said. “I have enjoyed being part of an independent and artist-driven institution leading the conversation on contemporary art.” He added that the museum is “set up for an incredible fall program and continued excellence.”

Rattemeyer, who in June 2019 was appointed director after spending 12 years at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where he was associate curator in the department of drawings and paintings, assumed the post on November 1, 2019, succeeding Mary Ceruti, who moved on to become director of Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center.

Bove at the time lauded the Kassel-born Rattemeyer, who is well known for his eye for emerging talent and for maintaining a broad international network as a passionate idealist, while Andreas Beroutsos, SculptureCenter’s board chair, cited him as “the logical choice.” 

Rattemeyer spent only a few months at the institution before the Covid-19 pandemic forced its closure. Working through the height of the pandemic, he prepared what the museum in a statement described as a “rigorous and exciting program.” 

The museum will reopen on September 24 with Tishan Hsu and Jesse Wine’s first New York solo shows, which are curated by Sohrab Mohebbi and Kyle Dancewicz, respectively.