Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass [Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY]

BACKGROUND

Corning Museum of Glass is seeking an experienced and knowledgeable Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass, expert in the period from 1900 to the present. The Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass is responsible for the acquisition, exhibition, cataloguing and research of the Museum’s modern and contemporary collection. She/he is a member of the Museum’s senior curatorial staff that includes the Curators of American Glass, European Glass, Ancient and Islamic Glass and Science and Technology.

The Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass oversees a department that has experienced enormous growth with the opening in March, 2015 of the 100,000 square foot Contemporary Art + Design Wing. The new Wing includes a 26,000 square foot gallery dedicated to exhibitions of contemporary glass. Adjacent to the new gallery is a renovated historic glass factory ventilator building housing a hot glass studio for glassblowing demonstrations and live glass design sessions, with 500 seats.

The Corning Museum of Glass, located in the Southern Tier of New York State, now encompasses 325,000 square feet including the new 100,000 square foot space. The Museum campus is dedicated to the art, science, technology and scholarship of glass and is the repository for the world’s largest collection of glass, over 55,000 objects representing an encyclopedic 3,500-year history. The Museum, with its contiguous Contemporary Art + Design Wing, is one of three buildings on the Corning campus, which also includes the Rakow Research Library, considered the world’s library of record on glass, and The Studio.

The modern and contemporary glass collection contains close to 18,000 objects. The acquisition budget provides ample funds each year for significant additions to the art collection and for important publications for the Library.

In addition to the 26,000 square foot gallery space in the new Contemporary Art + Design Wing, the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass oversees the Ben W. Heineman Sr. Family Gallery in the main Museum building, the modern gallery in the Birkerts historical collection galleries, and temporary exhibitions of work from the modern and contemporary collection installed in other areas of the Museum.

The Corning Museum of Glass operates with a budget of over $60 million and has a full?time staff of 160.

POSITION

Working Relationships

The Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass reports to the President/Executive Director. In addition to the curatorial team she/he will work with the Deputy Director of Collections, Research & Exhibitions; the Chief Scientist; the Chief Conservator; the Collections and Exhibition Manager; the Director of Education; the Chief Librarian; the Chief Digital Officer and the Director of The Studio.

The Curator of Modern and Contemporary Glass is responsible for the acquisition, exhibition and cataloguing of acquisitions of glass made after 1925 and most acquisitions made between 1900 and 1925; and for researching CMoG’s modern and contemporary glass collection. She/he will recommend the acquisition of glass and glass-related material such as books, periodicals and photographs in the field of modern and contemporary glass.

Ongoing Responsibilities

• Overseeing the new Contemporary Art + Design Wing and exhibition areas in other galleries pertaining to modern and contemporary glass; developing and implementing special exhibitions of modern and contemporary glass, including selection of objects for displays, copy and/or approval of labels and other interpretive materials.
• Assisting in periodic surveys, inventories, and evaluation of the collection.
• Consulting with private collectors for loans or gifts to the Museum.
• Lecturing publicly about modern and contemporary glass to museum groups, at conferences, at the annual Seminar and to other groups, as appropriate.
• Responding to all inquiries and advising appropriate entities about the field of modern and contemporary glass.
• Pursuing original research in the field, writing catalogs, articles and other materials for CMoG and other publications.
• Making recommendations regarding loans to and from the Corning Museum of Glass and working with the Registrarial and Conservation Departments to ensure the appropriateness, safety and condition of all loans.

LOCATION

Corning is an historic and artistic city in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Most famous for its glassmaking past and present, Corning welcomes more than half a million people every year from all over the world.

Corning is 2 hours from the cities of Rochester and Syracuse, both with important academic centers and thriving cultural institutions. Cornell University and Ithaca College are located in Ithaca, New York, less than an hour from Corning. Nonstop flights are available between the Corning/Elmira airport and New York, Philadelphia and Detroit.

The successful candidate will have 10 years of prior curatorial and collections experience in progressively senior positions at an art museum with a significant collection and strong curatorial program. Master’s degree in art history or a related field is required; a PhD is strongly preferred. A publications record is required. In addition s/he will have:

• In-depth knowledge of glass from 1900 to present
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills; ability to speak to groups of all sizes; ability to represent the Museum in a professional manner
• Excellent research skills
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and demonstrated ability to work as part of a team; excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to cultivate important collectors and tactfully solicit gifts for the collection
• Ability to plan strategically and long-range for the exhibition schedule
• A commitment to the interrelatedness of art and education
• The personality to enjoy social and community interaction
• High energy, strong motivation and a hands-on work ethic

Email inquiries and recommendations in confidence to the retained search consultants. Please do not send printed catalogues or material.
Freda Mindlin or Nancy Kaufman
Opportunity Resources Inc.
New York, NY 212-744-4409
search@opportunityresources.net
www.opportunityresources.net