“Remastering” at the KHM, ”Museum on the pulse of time” at the Albertina

January is the time for the annual press conferences at which the art institutions present their new programs. This year, this coincides with a change of director at two major museums: Ralph Gleis takes over the Albertina and Jonathan Fine the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM).

Born in the USA in 1969, Fine initially worked as a lawyer before joining the Ethnological Museum in Berlin as a curator after an art history museum and then moving to Vienna as Director of the Weltmuseum. He is now General Director of the KHM. His presented concept is based on a “remastering of the KHM”, as he explained. He wants to build this on “three pillars”: the museum should become “open, accessible and excellent” – wasn’t that exactly what was already successful under the previous management of Sabine Haag?

‘Open’ stands for a museum for everyone – a goal that is currently being pursued in almost all museums. ‘Accessible’: the structural plans already prepared for barrier-free access are to be implemented soon. ‘Excellent’ he explains as “science in the service of society”. This further strengthens a path that has already been taken. This also includes the innovation of establishing “a new career model” with scholarships and junior curators in order to bring a “breath of fresh air” into the museum, as Fine puts it. While there is still room for improvement in terms of content, structural changes such as his plan to “turn coexistence into cooperation”, i.e. to design cross-departmental exhibitions, will probably take place first. This is not yet reflected in the program.

Nevertheless, we can already look forward to “Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel. The Times of Nature” (11.3.-29.6.2025). And to the solo exhibition of the long-forgotten Flemish Baroque painter Michaelina Wautier, who lived from 1613/18 to 1689 (30.9.2025-25.1.2026). Contemporary art, on the other hand, has still been pushed into the background, but will eventually form “a bridge to the collection” in order to “better understand issues of the artists of the time”, as Fine explains. We are curious to see who will curate it.

Ralph Gleis also wants to “rethink” the museum as a “museum of the present in dialog with society” – isn’t that what it always is anyway? Born in Münster in 1973, the art historian worked as a curator at the Wien Museum from 2009 to 2017 before taking over as director of the Alte Nationalgalerie at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Gleis speaks of the “Albertina as a storehouse of knowledge” and calls it a “competence center for art on paper”. “There is history behind it and the future hidden here.” From this, he wants to develop “a museum with its finger on the pulse of the times” with “themes of today”. Together with the entire curatorial team, he has been developing the new program for 18 months – which, fortunately, is actually reflected in the program.

Gleis explains that they considered over 50 proposals from the team. 18 exhibitions at 3 locations were selected. They want to “work from the collection”, emphasizes Gleis, and “maintain the diversity”. To this end, they are focusing on themed exhibitions: “On the Road – Artists on Journeys” (27.6.-24.8.) with drawings and watercolors from the museum. “True Colours” on the question of how color came into photography (24.1.-21.4.) in the Albertina Modern on Karlsplatz or ‘Fascination Paper’ (12.12.2025-8.3.2026) with works from the Graphic, Architecture and Contemporary Collection from the 15th century to the present day in the main building.

But also individual artists such as Brigitte Kowanz and Damien Hirst, among others. From May, drawings by the British artist will be presented as a “world premiere” at the Albertina Modern on Karlsplatz: Gleis quotes the British artist as saying that his work is created with a pencil. From October, works by the US artist KAWS will be placed in relation to contemporaries under the theme “Art & Comics”. Sculptures will be on display in Klosterneuburg in the former Essl Museum from April 17 to November 2. The Albertina will not be shrinking, as was once demanded in the political debate, under Ralph Gleis – on the contrary: the new General Director wants to expand collection-based research and strengthen joint projects both locally and internationally. This also includes “moments of cooperation with guest curators”, as Gleis puts it. After all, he wants to “increase the appeal of one of the most important museums in the world”, as he enthusiastically emphasizes.