The idea to organize a McCarthy retrospective at Moderna Museet was born several years ago, when David Elliot was still the director. (Elliot served as director from 1996 until 2001.) In 2001 Lars Nittve became Director. Shortly after, the museum was closed for two years for needed renovations and all scheduled exhibitions were cancelled. Nittve suggested that the curatorial team take up the plans to organize a large McCarthy show and Magnus af Petersens was put in charge of the project in 2002. According to af Petersens, “It has been a long process.”

McCarthy has been closely involved in the planning of the exhibition at all stages in the process.

To organize the loans of specific works, the museum has also worked closely with McCarthy's gallerists to locate many of his pieces. Galerie Hauser & Wirth, McCarthy's gallery in Zurich, has a close relationship with Sammlung Hauser & Wirth (the Hauser & Wirth Collection), which owns many of McCarthy's important works. These relationships were crucial to locating and securing the larger installations included in the exhibition. Loan agreements were executed in May, 2005, approximately one year before the exhibition is scheduled to open.

Return to Paul McCarthy Case Study