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John William Kaldor Biography |
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John Kaldor was born in 1936 in Budapest, Hungary. His family escaped in 1948 and settled in Sydney, where John attended Riverview St Ignatius College. After completing high school, he left for England to begin his textile training under Sir Nicholas Sekers, a pioneer of the British fashion textiles after World War II. In 1955 John Kaldor began a course at the Textile College of Zurich in Switzerland.
John Kaldor's interest in art began at an early age when he spent five months in Paris after leaving Hungary in 1948. This interest was encouraged by Sir Nicholas Sekers and later by Professor Itten, the Director of the Textile College of Zurich, who had previously achieved international recognition as one of the original founders of the Bauhaus movement in Germany.
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In 1957, John Kaldor returned to Australia and began his first job as a designer at Silk & Textile Printers, Hobart, under the guidance of one of Australia's founding fathers of textiles Mr Claude Alcorso. In 1960, he moved to Sydney and joined Sekers Silk, which was the Australian operation of Sir Nicholas Sekers' business, owned and run by John's parents Andrew and Vera Kaldor.
In 1970 John Kaldor launched John Kaldor Fabricmaker Pty Ltd, (later trading as John Kaldor). During the mid 1970's John Kaldor expanded overseas, with offices in New York, Osaka, London, Sydney, and Melbourne. In 2005 John Kaldor decided to close the Australian operation to be able to devote his time to his life long passion, art. The UK branch of the company is continuing and the products are distributed in the US.
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John Kaldor with Christo at Little Bay, 1969. |
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John Kaldor with Harald Szeeman, 1971 |
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John Kaldor is known as a committed supporter and patron of international contemporary art in Australia. In 1969 John Kaldor invited Christo & Jeanne-Claude to Australia and co-ordinated The Wrapped Coast, which was their first major landscape work. This work became John Kaldor's Art Project 1, the first of a series of art projects.
Then followed:
1971, Harald Szeeman, I want to leave a nice well-done child here
1973, Gilbert & George, Singing Sculpture
1976, Charlotte Moorman & Nam June Paik, Concerto for TV cello and other works
1977, Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawings
1978, Richard Long, A straight hundred mile walk in Australia
1984, An Australian Accent: Three Artists
1991, Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Retrospective exhibition
1995, Jeff Koons, Puppy
1998, Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawings
1999, Vanessa Beecroft, VB40
2003, Ugo Rondinone, Our Magic Hour
2004, Ugo Rondinone, Clockwork for Oracle
2004, Barry McGee, The stars were aligned
2007, Urs Fischer, Cockatoo Island
2007, Gregor Schneider, Bondi Beach 21 beach cells
2008, Bill Viola, The Tristan Project
2008, Martin Boyce, We are shipwrecked and landlocked
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The purpose of Kaldor Public Art Projects is to bring to Australia international artists who represent important trends in contemporary art practice and to help realise major projects of their work. It is Kaldor's way of sharing his interest in contemporary art and giving the Australian public and local artists the opportunity to experience the development of major international art movements.
In June 1993 the Australian Government acknowledged John Kaldor's contribution to the development of contemporary art by awarding him the Order of Australia.
In 1995, an exhibition and publication of John Kaldor's private collection, John Kaldor Public Art Projects and Collection, was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, to coincide with an exhibition of Jeff Koon's work and the latest Kaldor art project, Puppy. In June 2003 a further exhibition and publication of his collection Journey to Now, was held at the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide.
John Kaldor is a member of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art , New York and formerly the International Council of the Tate Modern in London. John Kaldor is also a former trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and PS-1 Contemporary Art Centre, New York. |
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Installation view, From Christo and Jeanne-Claude to Jeff Koons: John
Kaldor Public Art Projects and Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney,
12 December 1995 to 17 March 1996 |
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Jeff Koons and John Kaldor
with Puppy, December 1995 |
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Installation view, Journey to Now, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, 18 April to 6 July 2003 |
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John Kaldor formerly served on the Board of the Biennale of Sydney and his previous roles have included being the Chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney from 1997-2002. During a turbulent period for the MCA that saw changes of ownership from the University of Sydney to the City of Sydney, his leadership was instrumental in securing the Museum’s long-term future by ensuring it became and independent company supported by the State.
From 2004 Kaldor Public Art Projects has been listed on the Register of Cultural Organisations in recognition of its thirty-year contribution to contemporary art in Australia.
In 2004 John Kaldor served as the Commissioner for the Australian Pavilion in the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005 and the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007.
In 2008 John Kaldor and his family donated an art collection built over 50 years to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It is the largest gift for the visual arts to an Australian institution.
John Kaldor plans to continue the success of Kaldor Public Art Projects by regularly bringing ground-breaking projects to Australia.
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At the opening by Cate Blanchett of Ricky Swallow's This Time Another Year, at the Australian Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 9 June 2005 |
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