TIMELINE
This section traces over 35 years of curatorial activities, 25 years of which Kunz spent as director of 3 different museums, in Lucerne, New York, and Ascona, for which he was responsible for curating, publishing, and production. Over 200 exhibitions and 150 publications are included in his career, many at Biennales, museums, and other spaces, from the Venice Biennial, the Edinburgh International, the Trigon Biennale-Styrian Autumn in Graz, to major museums around the world.
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1947 Born in Basel
Martin as a child
Born in Basel on October 6th to Gregor N. Kunz - a lawyer with great interest in classical art and a passion for traveling - and Helene Hupfer, whose family had a background in farming and the gravel industry.
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1957 - 1967: Early education and interests
Basel in the 50'
Attends Humanistisches Gymnasium, Basel's historic high school, where he pursues a traditional education with emphasis on Latin and ancient Greek. MK later expands his classic curriculum moving to less prestigious highschool Real Gymnasium to include modern languages next to latin and more science. He develops interest and a passion for contemporary architecture.
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1970 - 1977: Art history studies in Basel and London
Writings
While enrolled for two semesters, as a research student at the Courtauld Institute in London MK begins to write about contemporary art, initially for the Swiss publications Kunst-Nachrichten and Kunstbulletin, followed by articles for Studio International in London and other international magazines like Kunstforum and Flash Art.
In the late seventies, MK finds a large readership for his essays in Basler Zeitung. His full-page text on Picasso's last exhibition during the artist's lifetime - an unedited presentation of his vast output of the previous two years, shown in Avignon shortly before his death - stands out among many dismissive voices for its sympathetic analysis. Repro Page of Paper.
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1979 MKs and Françoise’s son, Thomas Bourgeau, is born.
Thomas Bourgeau
Françoise Bourgeau, who has split her time between Switzerland and France since MK’s appointment to lead the Kunstmuseum. However, life in the comparatively provincial city of Lucerne does not suit her, and she moves back to Paris for good shortly before Thomas’ birth. The couple separates.
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1997 MK and Linda Salerno marry
MK and Linda Salerno get married
MK and Linda Salerno marry. The painter and photographer, who grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as an only child of Southern Italian immigrants, had moved to Soho in the early 1970s and became deeply connected to the downtown artist community. In her large-scale paintings, she often worked with found images embedded in layers of paint and experimented with inventive techniques.
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2002 Linda Salerno is diagnosed with a serious illness
MK and Linda Salerno
Linda Salerno is diagnosed with a serious illness and the couple decides to move to Someo in the Ticino, where MK owns a house and superior health care is available. The 19th MK has been writing most of his catalogue texts since 1980, and there is room for a painting studio.
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2005 Return to Switzerland
Lugano (Switzerland)
MK and LS sell their share of Beethoven Hall and move permanently to Switzerland. They acquire an additional building in Lugano for closer proximity to medical facilities.
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