Larys Frogier has long been distinguished for his professional leadership at the forefront of contemporary art's evolving landscape, forging a vision and a legacy defined by deep intellectual inquiry, a commitment to transnational dialogues, and a radical rethinking of the role of artistic and cultural institutions in the 21st century.
Throughout his international positions as the director of the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai and La Criée contemporary art center in Rennes, as well as the Chair of Hugo Boss Asia Art award for emerging artists and the Head of Scientific European Research on emerging curatorial practices, Larys Frogier consistently reimagines the space of the institution as one of experimentation, care, and co-creation. His curatorial work foregrounds interdisciplinary research, collaborative practices, transcultural and gender equities, long-term relationships with artists, particularly across the Americas, Asia and Europe.
Under his directorship, the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai became an internationally recognized site for critical engagement and artistic innovation.
Frogier championed projects that challenged conventional museum models, favoring fluid, process-oriented exhibitions over static retrospectives, achieving effective international cooperation plan between institutions, and fostering discursive platforms that bridged art, theory, activism, and civic engagement.
While leading La Criée Contemporary Art Centre in France, Larys Frogier engaged the art institution into a robust European and international cooperation network based on research, residency and curation. Focusing on transcultural diversities and gender politics, he was also pioneering curatorial practices with daring researchers, performers, musicians and choreographers.
In 2023-2024, Larys Frogier was the Head of the scientific project “BECOMING WORLDS” gathering universities and art institutions dedicated to the reinvention of democratic participation and new curatorial practices in Europe and different regions of the world.
This scientific project was directed by the European Agency for Culture in Paris.
What sets Larys Frogier apart is his ability to situate the institution not as a container for art but as a living, relational entity, one that listens, learns, and evolves. His advocacy for more attentive but proactive forms of curating, and his refusal of spectacle-driven programming, have left a lasting imprint on the global contemporary art field.
Larys Frogier is not only legitimated for the highly regarded exhibitions he curated, but also because he helped build visionary plan for institutions to develop as evolving extensions where artists, thinkers, and communities might reimagine the world together.
