TICINO, SWITZERLAND.- Swiss art critic Harald Szeemann, 71, died in Ticino. He was the former director of the Venice Biennale of Visual Arts. In was the director of the documenta contemporary art exhibition in Kassel, Germany in the 1970’s. Harald Szeemann was born in 1933 in Bern. He ran the local contemporary art centre from 1961 to 1969, before becoming the freelance curator of exhibitions around the world. He was selected as the first artistic director of the documenta exhibition in Kassel in 1972.

Davide Croff, president of the Venice Biennale, said, "It’s a great loss for the art world, which will miss Harald Szeemann’s forward-looking organisational and critique skills."