Petra Giloy-Hirtz, Dr. phil., is a curator, writer, editor, and advisor in the field of the visual arts and has produced numerous monographic and thematic exhibitions and publications. She lives and works in Munich.

For ten years Petra Giloy-Hirtz was an assistant and associate professor of medieval literature at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and a lecturer at the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich. Since 1993 she has been active as an independent curator for contemporary art.

Petra Giloy-Hirtz was project manager for the Cultural Affairs Officer of the City of Munich Julian Nida-Rümelin (1998–2000), and a freelance curator at the Diocesan Museum of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising (1998–2005 and 2019–2024). Since 2017, she is the artistic advisor to the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung in Munich. 

Her exhibitions and publications are dedicated to artists such as Anselm Kiefer(„The Women“, Prestel 2025), Berlinde De Bruyckere („City of Refuge II“, Diözesanmuseum Freising, 2023), Kiki Smith („Empathy“, Diözesanmuseum Freising, 2023; „I am a Wanderer“, Modern Art Oxford, 2019; „Procession“, Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2018; Sara Hildén Museum, Tampere, 2019; Belvedere Vienna, 2019; Prestel 2018 and 2019), Dennis Hopper („The Lost Album“, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, 2012; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2014), David Lynch („The Factory Photographs“, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, 2014; MAST, Bologna, 2014), Julian Schnabel („Polaroids“, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf; Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague; FORMA Centro Internationale di Fotografia, Milan; Centro Niemeier, Avilés/Asturias, 2010/2011). 

Kiki Smith, Empathy, Diözesanmuseum Freising (2023), Berlinde De Bruyckere, City of Refuge II, Diözesanmuseum Freising (2023), Kiki Smith, I am a Wanderer. Tapestries, prints, photography, sculpture, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford (2019), Kiki Smith, Procession, Belvedere, Vienna (2019), Sara Hildén Museum, Tampere/Finland (2019), Haus der Kunst, Munich (2018); Dennis Hopper, The Lost Album, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2014), Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2012); David Lynch, The Factory Photographs, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, MAST, Bologna (2014); Julian Schnabel, Polaroids, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf / Hague Museum of Photography, The Hague, Netherlands / FORMA Centro Internationale di Fotografia, Milan, Italy / Centro Niemeyer, Áviles, Asturias, Spain / Colnaghi, London, 18Gallery, Bund 18, Shanghai. (2010/2011).

As an independent curator at the Diocesan Museum of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, she organized exhibitions featuring artists such as Kai Althoff, Lawrence Carroll, Olafur Eliasson, Roland Fischer, Gloria Friedmann, Mark Harrington, Geoffrey Hendricks, Stephan Huber, Magdalena Jetelová, Kazuo Katase, Mischa Kuball, Christina Kubisch, Raimund Kummer, Wolfgang Laib, Thomas Lehnerer, Robert Longo, Christiane Möbus, Marco Neri, Julian Opie, David Reed, Lisa Ruyter, Kiki Smith, Pia Stadtbäumer, Michel Verjux, and Bill Viola (1998–2005). As a curator, she oversaw the permanent site-specific installations at the Diocesan Museum in Freising: Berlinde De Bruyckere, “Arcangelo (Freising)” (2023), and Kiki Smith, “The Chapel of Mary’s Mantle” (2023).

Anselm Kiefer. The Women (Prestel 2025), Stephan Huber. Gran Paradiso (ed., Hirmer, 2023), Acosta Danza. Fusion. The Vision of Carlos Acosta's Dance Company (Prestel 2022), Mark Harrington. Degi-Degi (Zweigstelle Berlin, Munich 2020), Kiki Smith. Procession (Prestel 2018, 2. edition 2019), Elke Härtel. Rapunzel (Hirmer 2017), Julian Schnabel. CVJ, Nicknames of Maitre D’s & Other Excerpts from Life, Facsimile of the out-of-print, original bibliophile edition from 1987 (editor, epilogue, Hatje Cantz 2015), Roland Fischer. Facades (ed., Hirmer 2014, 2. edition  2015), Dennis Hopper. The Lost Album (Prestel, 2012, 2. edition, exhibition catalogue  Royal Academy of Arts, London, Prestel 2014), David Lynch. The Factory Photographs (Prestel 2014), Hassel Smith. Paintings 1937-1997 (ed., Prestel 2012), Julian Schnabel. Polaroids (Prestel 2010), Stefan Hunstein. „Schön war’s!“ (ed., Hatje Cantz 2009), Lucas Reiner. Los Angeles Trees (Prestel 2008). 

Essays on Silvia Bächli, Marcia Hafif, Eva Hesse, Kiki Smith, Nancy Spero, Julian Schnabel, David Lynch, Lawrence Carroll, Hassel Smith, Mark Harrington, Lucas Reiner, Thomas Lehnerer, Julia Mangold, Lilian Moreno Sánchez, Elke Härtel, Berlinde De Bruyckere and many others. Lectures and artist talks, recently with Robin Rhode, Monica Bonvicini, Jitka Hanzlová, Mona Hatoum (2021/2022), Constanza Camila Kramer Garfias, Silvia Levenson, Vera Lutter (2023), Ju Young Kim (2025).

Dr. phil. Petra Giloy-Hirtz

Maximilianstr. 26
80539 Munich
Germany

Phone: +49 89 982 82 83
Cell: +49 170 282 1591
Email: petra@curators.de