Born in Palmera (Valencia) in 1958, Vicente Todolí holds a PhD in Geography and History from the Universitat de València. He completed his History of Art studies at Yale University and History of Contemporary Art at the University of New York and the Whitney Museum.

He took his first professional steps as a curator of the Parpalló exhibition hall between 1980-1981. He later became a modern art specialist at the Department of Culture, Education and Science, where he promoted the creation project of the IVAM in which he worked as chief curator (1986-1988) and artistic director (1988-1996).

From 1996 to 2003, he was the director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, and later, for seven years, until 2010, he directed Tate Modern in London, the most relevant modern art gallery in Great Britain, considered one of the reference models, together with the MOMA in New York, of the international artistic scene.

In all the positions of responsibility he has held he worked as curator of many exhibitions and has been part of the advisory boards of prestigious institutions, such as the Reina Sofia Centre of Madrid, the ICA of Amsterdam or the Carnigie International in Pittsburgh. He has also been a member of the governing councils of MANIFESTA International Foundation in Rotterdam and the MADRE (Museum of Contemporary Art Donna Regina) in Naples, among others.

He is currently a member of the advisory councils of the Serralves Museum in Porto, the Kaldor Public Art Projects in Sydney, the Milan Novecento Museum, the Caixa's Collection, the MACBA in Barcelona and the Botín Foundation in Santander. He is also part of the governing councils of Parasol Unit (London), the Gala Dalí Foundation (Figueres) and the Merz Foundation (Turin).

Among other recognitions, he has been awarded the honorary order Santiago da Espada de Porto, granted in 2002, and is a knight of the order of the Arts and Letters of Paris, since 2009. In addition, he co-authored, along with Briton Richard Hamilton, the bookMenjar per pensar, pensar per menjar, in which he reflects on the world of cooking by Ferran Adrià –Doctors Honoris Causa by the UPV in 2010– and the relationship that it has with avant-garde art.

He has recently been appointed director of the artistic committee of the future Botín Centre for Art and Culture in Santander.