Eva Ehninger New Laurenz Professor of Contemporary Art

Prof. Dr. Eva Ehninger, born in 1980 in Rheinfelden (Germany), studied art history, museum studies, and English and American literature in Heidelberg, Michigan and Frankfurt am Main, where she obtained her doctorate in 2011 for her dissertation on site specificity in American art. Titled “Vom Farbfeld zur Land Art” (From Colorfield to Land Art), it was published in 2013 and awarded the Benvenuto Cellini Prize.

Since 2011, Eva Ehninger's research and teaching has dealt with contemporary art at the Department of Modernism and Contemporary Art of the University of Bern. She is currently investigating the social practice of photography in Great Britain and colonial India during the nineteenth century, as well as artistic practices in the critique of modernism. Her publications address contemporary institutional critique, media theory, the relationship between artistic and theoretical practice and abstract expressionism.

Springboard for young scholars

The Laurenz Assistant Professorship, established at the Department of Art History at the University of Basel in 2002, is funded by the Laurenz Foundation and limited to a tenure of five years. The position is closely associated with the Schaulager of the Laurenz Foundation in Münchenstein/Basel that houses the non-exhibited works of the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation and makes them accessible for research purposes.

The Laurenz Assistant Professorship has become an important, internationally recognized institution that provides a platform for upcoming scholars to strengthen their international reach in the field of contemporary art.

With the endowed professorship, the Laurenz Foundation has formed a scientific partnership with the University that involves teaching, the pursuit of projects and cooperation with other institutions.

Further information

• Caroline Mattingley-Scott, University of Basel, Head of University Advancement, phone: +41 61 267 28 86, email: caroline.mattingley-scott@unibas.ch (University and Laurenz professorship)
• Catherine Schott, lic. phil. MAS , Schaulager Communications, phone: +41 61 335 32 40, email: c.schott@schaulager.org (Laurenz Foundation and Schaulager)