Exploring a pioneering curator’s collection of cutting-edge ’60s and ’70s California art

The curator Hal Glicksman (born 1937) was a central figure in the development of the Californian art scene in the 1960s and 1970s. The Glicksman collection, gifted to MAMCO and Kunsthaus Biel Centre d’art Bienne (KBCB) in 2023 and documented in this volume, provides insight into the prevailing culture of Los Angeles and its famous and lesser-known figures. As a student, Glicksman witnessed firsthand the Beat Generation (George Herms, Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner) and came into contact with artists such as Ben Talbert and Fred Mason. He curated bold exhibitions of site-specific art projects (Michael Asher, Judy Chicago, Tom Eatherton, Bruce Nauman, Larry Bell, Peter Alexander, Jane Reynolds, Daniel Buren), while organizing shows of assemblage and Chicano art. Glicksman and his wife were also close companions of Guy de Cointet, whose work sits at the crossroads of performance and Conceptual art.