Guggenheim's master of the art of global branding steps down as museum director

Ed Pilkington in New York
Friday February 29, 2008
The Guardian

Thomas Krens, the man who helped turn the Guggenheim into a globally renowned art brand and expanded its reach through audacious projects around the world, is to step down from one of the top jobs in museum direction after almost 20 years.

His stepping aside brings to an end an era in the history of the Guggenheim and could have a big impact on both its future and that of art museum direction in general. He is seen as a pioneer of the model of global branding that has been echoed by other big institutions.

But Krens has also been a figure of controversy, with his reputation for an abrasive management style and for the priorities he brought to the Guggenheim.

A graduate of the Yale school of management, he was a representative of a new breed of museum directors whose expertise lies in business organisation rather than in traditional academic scholarship.

His term in office saw the Guggenheim expand, both in terms of its endowment, which increased six times to $118m (£52m), and in its global stretch. His flagship project was the Bilbao Guggenheim, the instantly recognisable titanium-clad building designed by Frank Gehry that has proven to be a huge success, attracting 1m visitors a year.

Under Krens' leadership, a new Guggenheim museum, again designed by Gehry, is to be completed in Abu Dhabi in 2012 which will embody his global ambitions by exhibiting art from all over the world.

But the worldwide empire-building also brought Krens criticism that he was failing to nurture the jewel in the Guggenheim crown - the Frank Lloyd Wright building in New York's upper east side.

Three years ago he was involved in a bruising struggle with the largest donor to the Solomon R Guggenheim foundation, Peter Lewis, who resigned after he accused Krens of losing sight of the main focus of the organisation - its New York flagship.

Many of Krens' most ambitious overseas projects failed to get off the ground, and though the model of branding and expansion has been mirrored by institutions such as the Tate in the UK and the Louvre in Paris, they have tended to be more modest in scale or have been achieved, as in the case of the Louvre, with government support.

Krens was also the subject of the mumblings of art critics who said his choice of shows on occasions fell short in terms of scholarship.

He staged a show of Armani suits sponsored by Armani itself, while The Art of the Motorcycle was in part paid for by BMW.

Under the terms of his change in job title, Krens will remain in charge of the Abu Dhabi project, which he said was "truly spectacular" in its scope and scale. "Our objective is to make something completely new, the best museum of modern and contemporary art in the world."

But his departure allows the Guggenheim to bring the New York flagship back under the same management umbrella as the foundation's other possessions: Bilbao, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin and the Guggenheim Hermitage in Las Vegas. It also opens the door to applications from top museum professionals who had been known to be hesitant to work beneath the dominant figure of Krens.

"We expect interest will be high and the candidates will be top tier," the foundation's chairman, William Mack, said.

Robin Cembalest, executive editor of ARTnews, said that by vacating the post, Krens had "opened the door to curators and directors from major institutions applying for the top job. Who the board picks will give a clear sign of where they want the Guggenheim to go."