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November 21, 2002 - PRESS RELEASE
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Albright-Knox Art Gallery today named Louis Grachos, who has led SITE Santa Fe, a New Mexico contemporary arts center, to national and international prominence in recent years, as the Gallery's next director.
A Toronto native, Grachos credits his visits to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery as a high school and college student to view its distinguished permanent collection as having inspired his passion for modern and contemporary art.
That passion took Grachos to positions at highly respected art museums in New York, San Francisco, Miami, and San Diego before becoming director of SITE Santa Fe in 1996.
Grachos will succeed Douglas G. Schultz, who is retiring after 30 years of dedicated service to the Albright-Knox, 19 of them as director. Under Schultz, the Albright-Knox has made important contemporary art acquisitions, had a strong and varied exhibition program, and renovated its physical facilities. Grachos becomes only the fourth director of the Gallery since 1955.
Grachos' appointment by the Board of Directors of The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, the governing body of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, is effective January 21, 2003. The appointment was announced today by Charles W. Banta, president of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, at a news conference and reception at the Gallery.
Grachos is recognized as a highly successful arts entrepreneur. Since becoming director of SITE Santa Fe, Grachos has propelled the institution to prominence by mounting exhibitions of provocative contemporary art, including the now highly visible SITE Santa Fe International Biennial Exhibitions.
"Louis Grachos brings to Buffalo and the Albright-Knox an unbridled enthusiasm for and knowledge of contemporary art, dynamic leadership, and a deep respect for the Gallery’s permanent collection," Banta said. "He has a strong desire to return to his roots in the East and to make a long-term commitment to the Western New York community with his wife and son."
Grachos was selected following a comprehensive national search that was facilitated by the respected firm, Russell Reynolds Associates.
"The search committee defined the ideal candidate as having excellent artistic credentials, administrative experience, and demonstrable leadership skills," Banta said. "The board believes that Louis has outstanding strengths in all three areas. His creative leadership and vision have made SITE Santa Fe an important destination for the international art world, and we look forward to Louis bringing the same level of energy to Buffalo."
"Louis Grachos is an excellent choice to provide a new generation of leadership for the Albright-Knox as it moves forward according to the recent strategic plan," Schultz said. "His excitement about our permanent collection and his expertise and experience in the contemporary art world will be a great benefit to the Gallery and the Buffalo/Niagara region."
Throughout his career, Grachos has organized numerous exhibitions by contemporary artists, including Keith Haring: Sculpture and Drawings; Robert Gober; Guillermo Kuitca; Doris Salcedo; Janine Antoni; Sarah Charlesworth: A Retrospective; Postmark: An Abstract Effect; and Gregory Crewdson; as well as site-specific installations.
Most notably, he served as director for the SITE Santa Fe International Biennial in 1997, 1999, and 2001, helping make SITE Santa Fe a major catalyst for cultural tourism in Santa Fe. Grachos was also responsible for the development of an impressive schedule of interdisciplinary initiatives, including broad-based community education and outreach programs that helped raise the art center’s public profile.
In addition, Grachos has secured support for SITE Santa Fe from notable national and regional foundations, including the Burnett Foundation, the Brown Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and a major Ford Foundation New Directions/New Donors Grant.
Grachos received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in art history from the University of Toronto and holds a Certificate for Museum Studies from the Museum Studies Graduate Program, John F. Kennedy University, San Francisco. His interest in contemporary art was further kindled during a curatorial internship at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in 1982. He served as assistant director and then interim director at the Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, and curator for the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.
"I am thrilled and privileged to be assuming the directorship of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, which for generations has served Western New York, Southern Ontario, and art enthusiasts across the United States," said Grachos. "As a native of Toronto, I first visited the museum in 1971 when its distinguished permanent collection inspired and fostered my interest in modern and contemporary art, and it remained an important place to visit for art education through my college days."
"I am honored to follow the excellence and leadership that Douglas Schultz has forged for the museum over the past three decades," Grachos said. "I look forward to working with the Gallery’s energetic and engaged Board of Directors and dedicated staff to move forward the thoughtful goals of our strategic plan, continue to build an important collection, and to initiate exciting new exhibitions and programs for our audiences. Also, it is an exciting opportunity for my family to become a part of such a culturally diverse and rich community as Buffalo.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery enjoys a worldwide reputation as an outstanding center of modern and contemporary art. Its permanent collection, which includes works by most of the great artists of the late 19th and the 20th centuries, has been cited as "one of the world’s top international surveys of modern and contemporary painting and sculpture."
Note to Editors: A high-resolution digital photo of Louis Grachos is available via email by contacting Cheryl Orlick of the Gallery