The Adolf Luther Foundation is looking for a foundation curator and managing director

The Adolf Luther Foundation, based in the former artist and residential studio in Krefeld, was founded in 1989 by the Krefeld light and object artist Adolf Luther (1912-1990). The aim and task of the foundation is to promote and support research in the field of Concrete Art and abstraction and to preserve the artistic work of Adolf Luther and his collection.

The foundation’s collection comprises around 1000 works by Adolf Luther (drawings, paintings, graphic art, object art, installations) from the period from 1942 to 1990. Works by Yves Klein and Lucio Fontana, the Nouveaux Réalistes and the Zero movement, Herbert Zangs as well as Ad Reinhardt and Joseph Beuys are also part of the collection.

Since May 2025, the Adolf Luther Foundation and the Kunstmuseen Krefeld launched a long-term partnership, which strengthens Krefeld as a key venue for Concrete Art. The Adolf Luther Foundation at the Kunstmuseen Krefeld creates synergies in the field of Concrete Art, through joint activities such as collection presentations, exhibitions, events, research and restoration projects.

Three venues – the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum (KWM), Haus Lange and Haus Esters by Mies van der Rohe – together form the Kunstmuseen Krefeld. The profile outlines an experimental, international and interdisciplinary program in the field of modern and contemporary art, design and architecture. The Kunstmuseen Krefeld were awarded Museum of the Year by AICA Germany in 2022.

The Adolf Luther Foundation is looking for a

Foundation curator and managing director m/f/d full-time

In this responsible position, you will work 50% for the Adolf Luther Foundation and 50% for the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, acting as the interface between the two institutions.

The salary is based on German public service salary grid (TVöD 13)

–

Your responsibilities

Management of the Adolf Luther Foundation and strategic development and positioning of the artist‘s foundation in coordination with the foundation’s board of directors

Strategic and organizational development of the cooperation between the Adolf Luther Foundation and the Kunstmuseen Krefeld in collaboration with the Foundation Board and the director of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld

Conception and realization of exhibitions in the Kunstmuseen Krefeld in the field of concrete art and related disciplines (design, architecture, etc.), from a historical and contemporary perspective

Supervision of a permanent collection room of the Luther Foundation in the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum

Conception, realization and support of exhibitions on Adolf Luther and his collection in other institutions on a national and international level

Realization of publications

Scientific research on Adolf Luther

Maintaining and managing the Adolf Luther Foundation’s collection: managing loans, conservation measures, ongoing digitization of the catalogue raisonné and continued maintenance of the archive

Press and public relations work for the Adolf Luther Foundation

Conception of public and educational programs

Guided tours for visitors to the artists‘ foundation

Budget management and fundraising

–

Your profile:

Graduate degree (MA or doctorate) in art history

Excellent knowledge of concrete art and global developments in abstraction (20th and 21st centuries)

Interest in interdisciplinary issues, including in the applied arts

Several years of curatorial experience in a museum and/or arts foundation

Proven experience in museum-, exhibitions-, publication-, budget- and project management

Strategic and creative thinking, resilience and commitment

Very good written expression in German

Strong communication, interpersonal and team skills

Confident handling of IT systems, databases and digital media

Proficient in spoken and written English

Driver‘s license

–

Please send your detailed application documents (letter, CV, education and work certificates, earliest possible starting date) in a PDF document exclusively by e-mail to:

info@adolf-luther-stiftung.com

Application deadline is September 7, 2025

For further information regarding the position, please contact Dr. Magdalena Broska, Adolf Luther Foundation, Tel.: 02151/27913, or Katia Baudin, Director of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Tel.: 02151/97558 111.

We look forward to receiving your application.

The Board of the Adolf Luther Foundation

Opening: Friday, 16.05.2025, 7 pm

The exhibition Adolf Luther. Seeing is beautiful marks the beginning of a close and long-term collaboration between the Kunstmuseen Krefeld and the Adolf Luther Foundation. The aim of the cooperation is to raise Krefeld’s profile as a central location for Concrete Art and to secure Adolf Luther’s artistic legacy in Krefeld by linking the two institutions. The exhibition at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum marks the start. It combines important works by Luther with works by other artists from the foundation’s collection and also surprises visitors with lesser-known aspects and projects by the Krefeld-born artist.

Further information can also be found on the homepage of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld.

Photo: Dirk Rose

„With Lucio Fontana: Expectation, the Von der Heydt-Museum brings Fontana’s complex oeuvre to life in all its many facets: from figurative to conceptual works, from ceramics to spatial installations. Around 100 works from the Fondazione Lucio Fontana, Milan, as well as from public and private collections provide an insight into the astonishingly experimental and daring work. […]

One chapter of the exhibition is dedicated to the exchange between Fontana and a younger generation of artists who took up his ideas and visions of the future: Internationally, Piero Manzoni and Yves Klein should be mentioned, and for the Rhineland, ZERO artists such as Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, Günther Uecker [and Adolf Luther] in particular. […]“ – Announcement of the exhibition

Further information on the museum’s website.

The exhibition includes the object Concetto Spaziale, 1965 by Lucio Fontana, Adolf Luther Foundation Collection.