Polly and Mark Addison Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art [Denver Art Museum]

Opportunity for a dynamic, ambitious, experienced curator to direct the Modern & Contemporary Art Department at a major AAMD art museum in the West.

The Denver Art Museum (DAM) seeks an energetic, entrepreneurial individual with both curatorial and management experience to lead a department.  Expertise is required in international contemporary art since 1980 plus broad knowledge of 20^th-century art, combined with a desire to reach, inspire, and educate broad audiences, including families with children.

Christoph Heinrich, the Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the DAM since 2010, has put in place a vision of dynamic programming for visitors and families, including destination exhibitions, of which a significant portion feature modern and contemporary art.  Rotating permanent-collection installations highlight the opportunities the Libeskind architecture provides.  The DAM vision includes a commitment to pulling back the curtain on the creative process of artists, not only by featuring frequent on-site installations but also by incorporating interactive educational spaces in the galleries and special exhibitions.  The DAM is committed to implementing ambitious, large-scale exhibitions of international contemporary art and exploring new and dynamic ways of engaging audiences.  Recent single-artist exhibitions have presented the works of Tom Wesselmann, Daniel Richter, Ed Ruscha, El Anatsui, Dana Schutz, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko, and Nick Cave.

Today, with 250 staff and an operating budget of $26M, the DAM is one of the 15 largest museums in the AAMD.  The Curator will have the opportunity to organize world-class exhibitions, along with smaller shows and projects.  The Curator will also create innovative rotations of the permanent collection in 18,000 square feet of gallery space.

Denver is now the 22^nd largest city in the US, and the region’s population soared an estimated 8% from 2010 to 2013.  Denver is known for fabulous skiing in the Rocky Mountains and for the young, entrepreneurial populations it attracts from both Coasts.  The new Clyfford Still Museum next door, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and performing arts organizations and professional sports teams round out the high-quality lifestyle in the Denver/Boulder region.

Key Opportunities

With the DAM team, the Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art can:

• Organize ambitious, world-class  “Banner” exhibitions every 2 to 3 years in one of the 3 special exhibition galleries — the 10,000-square-foot Anschutz Galleries, the location of the Cartier exhibition (see: http://brilliantindenver.com/about-the-exhibition?gclid=CM3Fs4D83sICFWIA7AodpR0ASA) the 7,000-square-foot Gallagher Gallery, location of the Matisse exhibition (see:http://www.denverartmuseum.org/exhibitions/matisse-and-friends), or the 3,000 square-foot Martin McCormick Gallery.
• Biennially rotate the Modern/Contemporary collection in the over 18,000 square feet of dramatic gallery space in the Hamilton building, creating completely new installations, comparable to the past installation “Focus on the Figure” or the current show “Material World” (see also p. 5 and: http://www.denverartmuseum.org/exhibitions/material-world).
• Work with inspiring living artists to create temporary on-site artist installations throughout the campus.
• Acquire works for the permanent collection by internationally renowned and rising artists through purchases and through gifts from DAM’s active patrons and collectors.
• Collaborate on public programs, such as artist panels, “maker” workshops, lectures, outdoor events on the Martin Plaza, and concerts.
• Bring exposure to 20^th– 21^st-century art to an audience of over a half-million visitors per year, including schoolchildren and underserved audiences who have few such opportunities within 500 miles.
• Manage a department of 3 to 5, with the possibility to advance in future years to a more senior post.
• Enjoy Denver and the lifestyle of the Rocky Mountain West.

Required Job Qualifications

• Five or more years’ experience as a museum curator, or equivalent professional experience
• Substantial record of exhibitions and publications
• MA degree in related art field
• Thorough knowledge of 20^th– and 21^st-century art, with a focus on art since the 1980s
• Experience at a collecting museum, working with acquisitions and collection rotations
• Team player, collaborative
• Ambitious for the institution and to serve broad audiences, not just the cognoscenti
• Management ability to lead a small staff
• Fundraising and public speaking abilities
• International network of professional colleagues, artists, collectors, and dealers
• Willing to travel extensively

Desired Additional Qualifications

• Ph.D. preferred
• Passion for emerging artists
• Experience and interest in Installation Art and time-based art
• Fluent in at least one language other than English (Spanish preferred)

Detailed Job Duties/Responsibilities

• Work collaboratively with educators and designers in the development, creation, interpretation, and installation of permanent galleries and special exhibitions organized or booked by the museum
• Collaborate with curatorial colleagues, collectors, patrons, and cultural organizations to generate important exhibitions, publications, and public programs
• Prepare and give lectures, tours, and workshops to the public, professional colleagues, and other groups
• Take responsibility for the Modern & Contemporary collections, including study, rotation and display, care and record-keeping, and publication of the collections
• Build and refine the collections
• Participate in institutional planning and scheduling
• Prepare and monitor the department’s budget
• Supervise curatorial assistants and other departmental staff, volunteers, and contract workers
• Actively cultivate funding for acquisitions, exhibitions, research grants, and fellowships through association with professional organizations, foundations, and patrons on local, national, and international levels.  Work actively with the DAM Contemporaries, the department support group
• Maintain professional affiliations in scholarly organizations, professional societies, and relevant committees
• Given that the DAM is an institutional member, abide by, follow, and comply with the guidelines of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), and the International Council of Museums (ICOM), including the AAMD Report on the Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art and the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property; and conduct appropriate provenance research on all pertinent objects in the department’s collections.

International candidates will be considered.

Nominations welcome. 

Inquiries and nominations are welcome at SearchandRef@museum-search.com.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply in confidence:

Email cover letter, résumé or CV (Word document preferred), salary requirement, and names of 3 references with contact information by February 19, 2015 (end of day) to retained search firm: Marilyn Hoffman, Museum Search & Reference, SearchandRef@museum-search.com.  References will not be contacted without prior permission of the applicant.  Screening of applications will continue until the completion of the search process.  Position open until filled.

DAM policy is to prohibit discrimination against any person or organization based on age, race, sex, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity, gender expression, ancestry, marital status, gender, veteran status, political service, affiliation or disability.

About the DAM’s Encyclopedic Collections

Since its founding in 1893, the DAM has amassed more than 70,000 works of art, one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of world art between Chicago and the West Coast.  Internationally known for its holdings of American Indian art, the Museum has also assembled an extensive group of pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art objects, now considered one of the finest collections anywhere.  Other areas of concentration are European and American painting and sculpture, photography, architecture, design and graphics; and modern and contemporary, Asian, African, Oceanic, western American, and textile art.

About the Modern & Contemporary Collections

The Modern & Contemporary Department was established in 1978.  Renowned for its impressive collection of modern masterworks and outstanding contemporary objects, the collection represents more than a century of artistic innovation.  Encompassing over 12,500 works made since 1900, the collection includes works by Picasso, Duchamp, Matisse, and O’Keeffe, as well as 33 paintings, drawings, and collages by abstract-expressionist Robert Motherwell.  The collection also holds representative works from the major post-war art movements, including abstract expressionism, minimalism, pop art, conceptual art, and contemporary realism.

For thirty-five years, the DAM has collected vigorously in the field of Post-1945 Art, building an extensive collection including works by Motherwell, Guston, Mitchell, Turrell, Irwin, Smithson, Kiki Smith, Fischl, Weiner, and Gormley.  The contemporary art holdings are particularly rich in sculpture, installation, and time-based media, with works by Paik, Viola, Nauman, Simpson, Wallinger and others, as well as American drawings of the last fifty years.  The gift and future bequest of esteemed collectors Vicki and Kent Logan added a strong group of mostly American, British, German, and Chinese art of the last 20 years.

The DAM was among the first institutions in the U.S. to collect a number of now-famous contemporary artists, including superb works by Matthew Brannon, Jonas Burgert, Nicole Eisenman, Damien Hirst, Bjørn Melhus, Alan Rath, Neo Rauch, Charles Sandison, David Schnell, Beverly Semmes, Sean Scully, Sandy Skoglund, and Shinique Smith.

The collection rotates regularly, and figurative work or fiber work might be featured; the latter is currently on view in Material World (see 4 images below).  Visitors might also see Sandy Skoglund’s monumental installation Fox Games, Jim Dine’s sculpture Wheat Fields, or Tony Oursler’s Zero, and a Donald Judd sculpture on the Bartlit Family Sculpture Deck.  The Martin Plaza displays works by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Beverly Pepper, Zhang Huan, Joel Shapiro, Mark di Suvero, and Lawrence Weiner.

In 2009/10 the group show “Embrace!” highlighted the visionary architecture by Daniel Libeskind.  Seventeen artists from around the world worked for months using spaces throughout the Hamilton Building as their material and canvas.  This exhibition and others following it have affirmed the DAM’s commitment to pull back the curtain on the creative process of artists and highlight the opportunities the Libeskind architecture provides.

The Modern & Contemporary Department has been enriched by three significant collections.

The Logan collection (http://www.denverartmuseum.org/collections/logan-collection) was the single largest donation to the department.  The works reflect the Logans’ global perspective and encompass groundbreaking work created in the 1990s and early 21^st century.  The Logans were among the first Americans to collect work by contemporary Chinese artists and now own one of the largest collections of such material in the world.  The Logans have also gifted major works by American Indian contemporary artists and have sponsored exhibitions and the Logan Lecture Series, which has brought in over 40 contemporary artists.

The collection of Polly and Mark Addison, Colorado residents and long-time museum supporters who are collectors of contemporary art in all media—from time-based work and sculpture to installation art and photography.  Their support has brought many important works to the DAM.

The Herbert Bayer Collection and Archive is the largest public collection of work anywhere by the Austrian-born Bauhaus master who lived in Colorado for 28 years.  This internationally important repository contains over 8,000 works of art and design, plus documentary material.

For further images, see: http://www.denverartmuseum.org/collections/modern-contemporary-art.

About Denver

Denver offers major-city sophistication in a location inspiring for its natural beauty.  A hub for those seeking the Rocky Mountain ski slopes, Denver is also home to major museums, four major sports teams, and a wide variety of neighborhoods.

The Denver Metropolitan Statistical Area is over 2.7 million people, and the region had the second fastest growth rate of the top 22 metro-areas in the US, second only to Houston.  The Mile High City is now larger than Washington, Boston, or Atlanta.  Despite its size, Denver is a livable, friendly city where many DAM staff walk or bike to work.  Its temperate climate boasts 300 days of sunshine per year.

Arts, culture, and creativity are fully integrated into daily life, work, and play in Denver.  The city is known for its public art, downtown theatre district, indie music scene, art districts, creative-sector businesses, and microbreweries and distilleries, to name a few features that make Denver special.  The city hosts a vital contemporary art scene enlivened by a rich variety of cultural organizations, galleries, and collectors.  The city has 5 distinct arts districts, featuring over 50 art galleries, many studio buildings, and boutiques with local crafts and artisanal products, from jewelry to wine.  See: http://brilliantindenver.com/plan-your-visit/ more-things-to-do-in-denver/explore-denvers-arts-world for more information about the arts districts.

In addition to the Museum of Contemporary Art and Clyfford Still Museum, Denver’s many other museums include the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado), Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art (of 1875 – 1990), Children’s Museum of Denver, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, Denver Zoo, and Denver Botanic Gardens.  Enjoy symphony, ballet, opera, and Broadway shows at cultural venues including The Denver Center for the Performing Arts andDenver Center Theatre Company.  Architectural monuments include the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Denver Public Library, and Colorado State Capitol.  Enjoy Colorado Rockies baseball at Coors Field, or take in a football game at Mile High Sports Authority Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos.  Denver is also home to the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche professional hockey team.

Enjoy skiing, snowboarding, hiking, or biking at nearby resorts such as Loveland (only 50 minutes away), Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, and Copper Mountain, or travel to Aspen or Vail.  Draw inspiration from the area’s unrivaled natural beauty at Mt. Evans,Denver Mountain Parks, or Rocky Mountain National Park near Boulder.

Visit: http://www.denver.org/ for information about Denver.

About Colorado

Colorado’s relaxed, high-quality lifestyle is attracting cosmopolitan people who seek work/life balance, farm-to-table food, a green mentality, and incomparable outdoor beauty.  Visit: http://www.colorado.com/ to learn more about all the state has to offer.