Klaus Honnef is a German art historian, art critic, exhibition curator, and theorist of artistic photography. Born in Tilsit (now Sowetsk) in 1939, he studied sociology and history at the University of Cologne from 1960 to 1965. He worked as an editor for several newspapers before becoming a prominent figure in the art world. From 1974 to 1999, he served as the exhibition manager at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, where he was responsible for temporary exhibitions and later headed the photography department. Honnef has curated over 500 exhibitions worldwide and was an organizer of documenta 5 and 6 in Kassel. He is a prolific author on contemporary painting and photography theory, having published numerous books with major publishers like Taschen.[1,2,3]
Und sie haben Deutschland verlassen ... müssen. Fotografen und ihre Bilder 1928-19971997 · PROAG · book · GermanISBN 3932584023Co-authored with Frank Weyers.
Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Band 1 + 21998 · Taschen · book · GermanCo-authored with Karl Ruhrberg and Manfred Schneckenburger.
Pop Art2004 · Taschen · book · GermanISBN 3-8228-2216-7Part of the Taschen Basic Art Series.
Andy Warhol 1928–1987. Kunst als Kommerz2008 · Taschen · book · GermanISBN 978-3-8228-6378-7
Exhibitions
1972Documenta 5Kasselgroup
1977Documenta 6Kasselgroup
Awards
1988Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettresRepublic of France
2011Kulturpreis der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Photographie
