When Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen announced at the beginning of May 2022 that Susanne Gaensheimer would continue to direct the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen for another seven years, until 2031, the then NRW Minister of Culture did not hold back on praise. Gaensheimer is "one of the outstanding museum directors in Germany and internationally." The exhibitions curated by the art historian (born in 1967) have received "great public acclaim." Not least, the "reconceptualized collection presentations in K20 and K21 have opened new perspectives on the collection."
It goes without saying that such official announcements regarding the contract extension of a leader are always underpinned by plenty of compliments. However, with Susanne Gaensheimer, these correspond to the facts. When the expert in contemporary art (PhD on "Aspects of Violence in the Works of Bruce Nauman") took up her position in Düsseldorf in 2017, she was by no means an unknown figure. Especially as director of the MMK – Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt am Main (2009–2017) and twice curator of the German Pavilion at the Biennale (2011 and 2013), the Munich-born woman proved that she is well-acquainted with contemporary art and capable of setting forward-looking accents. As the head of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, she stepped into the quite powerful footsteps of her predecessors Werner Schmalenbach, Armin Zweite, and Marion Ackermann. It is long clear, not only to those familiar with the scene, that Susanne Gaensheimer operates and curates on par with these luminaries of the art world.
The series of exhibitions she has realized at the main house at Grabbeplatz (K20) and in the former Ständehaus (K21) is impressive. Isa Genzken, Carmen Herrera, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Gerhard Richter, Thomas Ruff, Hito Steyerl, Ai Weiwei – a list that does not capture all the artists to whom Gaensheimer has devoted solo presentations.
The selection is therefore flawless. The 'duty,' that is, the handling of the collection, is no less so: here Gaensheimer managed to expand the canon of Classical Modernism and the Europe- and America-influenced post-war art with remarkable non-Western positions. After all, she has repeatedly drawn attention to significant women artists of the 20th century – a 'female note' that has long been neglected in the art world. "My goal is to further conceptualize the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in the context of multiplicity, digitalization, and sustainability," stated the director on the occasion of the contract extension. Furthermore, she aims to "reflect on the changing audience and the related role of the museum institution and to open the house even further." Sounds good. And Susanne Gaensheimer can be expected to translate those noble words into museum actions. For her first term, the biblical image of the 'seven fat years' seems to be no exaggeration. With 'seven lean years' for the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen under Susanne Gaensheimer's direction, one should not expect that.
