SEAN RAINBIRD.

Sean Rainbird, a specialist in contemporary German art, plays a key role in the Tate Modern team. Among his many responsibilities as a veteran Tate Collections curator are the planning and installation of new displays of the museum's permanent and temporary holdings. His track record includes a seminal 1991 Gerhard Richter survey and "Mondrian: Nature to Abstraction" in 1997, orchestrated in conjunction with painter Bridget Riley. And from 1995 to 1997 he co-programmed (with Catherine Kinley; see page 46) the pioneering Art Now project room.

Since 1987 Rainbird has been involved with proposing, researching, and acquiring twentieth-century works, to which sixty percent of the total acquisitions budget is allocated. He also advises the Tate Patrons of New Art buying program, which has resulted in good representations of Jeff Wall, Bill Viola, and Gary Hill, along with more controversial acquisitions of works by YBAs Sarah Lucas, Rachel Whiteread, and Catherine Yass. But Rainbird's main focus has been the acquisition of twentieth-century German art. "We have tried to put together comprehensive groups of work by painters, photographers, and sculptors," he explains, "so that artists like Thomas Struth, Thomas Schutte, Andreas Gurksy, and Georg Baselitz can be viewed in depth."

At Tate Modern, Rainbird's installations will include Sam Taylor-Wood's video work Brontosaurus, 1995, and in the spectacular double-height gallery facing the river, Joseph Beuys's Lightning with Stag in its Glare, 1985. Meanwhile, back at Millbank, Rainbird is working on new displays celebrating the last decade's acquisitions. "With all eyes focused on Bankside, despite the new displays at the 'old' Tate, Millbank may have to take a back seat until next year's new building extensions there open, allowing a relaunch," he observes. "A lot of big questions need to be ironed out, but grasping lottery money for Bankside has really paid off. It allows the Tate to expand in dynamic fashion-- and on schedule, too."