Christian Herren


Christian Herren is a creative director, art consultant, and curator based in Bern (Switzerland) and Paris (France). His cultural agency specializes in projects at the intersection of culture, design, and tourism, focusing on exhibitions, positioning, and communication strategies. Recent projects under his direction include the most extensive exhibition on Swiss design ever presented in China (Swiss Design Classics), commissioned by the Swiss government, and the Liaisons Suisses exhibition at the Swiss Embassy in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games, as well as the revitalization of the Engadin Art Talks archives and events.

Christian has curated numerous exhibitions, including those at the artgenève art fair and bespoke interior designs for the Hotel Schweizerhof in Bern. He has collaborated with a diverse range of artists and designers, such as Sophie Calle, Ragnar Kjartansson, and Roman Signer, and has worked with publishers including PIN–UP (New York), VEXER (Berlin), and Scheidegger & Spiess (Zurich).

His consulting projects have encompassed brand identity and communication strategies for clients such as members of The Leading Hotels of the World, GlaxoSmithKline, and the Teo Jakob Art Collection Foundation.

Christian is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland) and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) for the project Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art. Christian's research has been featured in exhibitions such as Dürer and Beyond at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) and he has contributed written descriptions for the Aargauer Kunsthaus (Aarau, Switzerland) collection and organized lectures on topics like The Role of the Curator in Modern Art in collaboration with Hans Ulrich Obrist. Christian's multidisciplinary experience spans roles such as senior specialist in artists' prints and books at an auction house, management and agency positions, and international studies in art history, design, and fine arts.

Curriculum Vitae

2020 - present: Teo Jakob Art Collection Foundation (art consultancy)
Member of the Board of Trustees and co-curator of the Teo Jakob Art Collection Foundation.

2019 - present: École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and Case Western (research & writing)
Associate Researcher at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and Case Western (Cleveland) on the project "Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art."

2014 - present: self-employed (creative direction, art consultancy, research & writing)
Independent agency work as creative director, art consultant and researcher. Creative direction projects with GlaxoSmithKline and the Swiss Red Cross, among others. Consulting work for members of The Leading Hotels of the World and Switzerland Tourism. Organization of numerous exhibitions, among others under the label "ELETTO", together with Kevin Muster, Arthur Fink, Roman Sterchi and Melina Bärtschi. Art consultancy projects in the field of collection management and valuation (including provenance research and insurance appraisals), international market placement of important works by Käthe Kollwitz and Wilhelm Lehmbruck, revaluation of the largest private collection of Charles Lapicque. 

2024: Olympic Games 2024 (creative direction)
Conception and overall realisation of the exhibition pavilion of Switzerland Tourism at the Maison Suisse, Swiss Embassy in Paris, during the 2024 Summer Olympics. Curation and scenography in collaboration with Johnny Graf, USM Haller and Truffer AG. Accompanying measures: design of various communication strategies and PR work.

2024: Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing (creative direction)
 Conception and curation of table-top exhibition of Swiss inventions from the last 120 years on behalf of the Swiss Embassy in China (on the occasion of a state visit by Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin).

2023 - 2024: Engadin Art Talks (project management)
Conception, organisation/management and design of the new website of Engadin Art Talks, as well as the development and processing of the archive (2010-2024) and the co-organisation of events (including budget control and fundraising).

2023: artgenève (creative direction)
Conception, communication and event organisation of teo jakob x artgenève: a temporary exhibition including events, online communication and publication. Creation and implementation of PR strategies and MICE activities.

2021 - 2022: Jeu de Paume (creative direction)
Development and implementation of art and flower installations in the entrance hall of the Jeu de Paume Museum, Paris, in collaboration with the Librairie du Jeu de Paume and DSQBL.

2020 - 2022: self-employed (asset management, research & writing)
Management of the private estate of Othmar and Valérie Häuptli, Aarau, with a focus on key works of classical modernism (cataloguing and provenance research).

2018 - 2020: Education
Master's degree in Design and Fine Arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam.

2017 - 2020: Aargauer Kunsthaus (research & writing)
Writing artwork descriptions for the "Sammlung Online" catalogue of the Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau.

2017 - 2018: Teaching
Teaching at the schools of Münchenbuchsee and Münsingen (phil. I linguistic/historical).

2018: MUS-E conference (creative direction)
Conception, organisation and implementation of the international MUS-E conference, in collaboration with the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation (Brussels) and Erasmus+ (Bonn).

2017: self-employed (research & writing)
Research-related visits to Lomé (Togo, West Africa) and DaLi (Yunnan, South China).

2014 - 2017: self-employed (creative direction, art consultancy, research & writing)
Processing of the artists' estates of Rudolf Urech-Seon, Rudolf Häsler and Urs Burki, including the conception and realisation of artist's monographs (published by Scheidegger & Spiess, Zurich and VEXER, Berlin/St. Gallen respectively).

2014 - 2017: self-employed (creative direction)
Conception, realisation, production and editing of the experimental documentary film "Coca-Castro", Havana, Barcelona and Bern.

2014 - 2016: self-employed (creative direction)
Co-founder, executive and director of the Swiss Brand Museum pop-up project, in collaboration with Presence Switzerland (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA), Bern.

2010 - 2013: Bromer Art Collection (creative direction, art consultancy)
Founding director of a private museum with associated gallery (now Blue Velvet Projects in Zurich). Exhibitions with Ragnar Kjartansson, Francis Alÿs and Roman Signer, among others.

2011: self-employed (research & writing)
Organisation of panel discussions with Hans Ulrich Obrist and Post Media Books, Milan.

2010 - 2012: Education
Studied art history and philosophy at the Universities of Basel and Bern.

2006: self-employed (research & writing)
Processing of the private estate of Hans Rohr (cataloguing, provenance research, appraisals). Some of the research has been featured in the Metropolitan Museum, New York.

2006 - 2010: Education
Training as senior specialist in the artists' prints and books department (modern and contemporary art) at the auction house Galerie Jürg Stuker AG, Bern.

Recent project: