In Memoriam: Rudi Fuchs (1942–2026)

Magazzino Italian Art mourns the passing of Rudi Fuchs, one of the most influential curators and museum directors of his generation, and a dear friend whose vision and generosity helped shape the history of our institution.

Throughout his distinguished career, Fuchs championed artists whose work challenged established languages and conventions. As artistic director of Documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982, director of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and later director of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, he brought an independent and personal sensibility to the presentation and interpretation of art.

His relationship with Italian art was particularly significant. In 1984, Fuchs became the founding director of Castello di Rivoli, near Turin, helping establish one of Italy's most important institutions for contemporary art. With the inaugural exhibition Ouverture, he brought the work of Arte Povera artists into dialogue with major international artistic movements, affirming their place in the broader history of postwar art. His exhibitions and his approach to collecting helped establish Castello di Rivoli as a vital center for the study and presentation of Arte Povera.

Fuchs was a meaningful presence in the life of Magazzino's founders, Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu. He was a friend whose insights, encouragement, and generosity accompanied their journey in the discovery of Italian art. In the early 1990s, they encountered Arte Povera for the first time at an exhibition he curated at Castello di Rivoli. The experience proved transformative, inspiring their sustained engagement with postwar Italian art and setting them on a path that would eventually lead to the founding of Magazzino Italian Art in 2017. In this sense, Rudi holds a special place in the very origins of the museum.

Fuchs's generosity extended directly to Magazzino. He donated works to the museum, including Luciano Fabro's Gioiello, presenting the idea of the museum as a scrigno—a treasure chest safeguarding the artistic legacy of Arte Povera for future generations.

Beyond his institutional achievements, Fuchs cultivated lasting friendships with artists, including Domenico Bianchi, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, and Luciano Fabro. These relationships reflected his conviction that understanding art required sustained conversations with the people who made it. His friendship with Domenico Bianchi was particularly close. Fuchs championed Bianchi's work internationally, presenting it at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and contributed an essay to the artist's catalogue for the Olnick Spanu Art Program.

Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, Magazzino Italian Art Director Nicola Lucchi, and the entire Magazzino team extend their heartfelt condolences to Rudi Fuchs's family, friends, and colleagues. We remember him with affection and gratitude for his extraordinary contribution to the history of art, for the many institutions and indivudals he inspired, and for the enduring place he holds in Magazzino's own story.

Above: Stedeljk Museum, 2016
Works from left to right: Georg Baselitz (born Hans-Georg Kern, 1938–2026), Robert Ryman (May 30, 1930–February 8, 2019), Domenico Bianchi (b. 1955), Niele Toroni (b. 1937), Gerhard Richter (b. 1932), (in front) Carl Andre (1935–2024)