Jodi Throckmorton is PAFA’s new fine art curator at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She will also be in charge of the museum’s contemporary art exhibition programs. Image: Albert Herring collection. Albert Herring, Interior of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Wikimedia

ART NEWS: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) Announces Jodi Throckmorton as New Curator of Contemporary Art. The new fine art curator will oversee PAFA’s contemporary art exhibition programs. 

BY KAZAD

PHILADELPHIA— Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) has appointed Jodi Throckmorton, a seasoned art curator, as its new Curator of Contemporary Art. Throckmorton, whose appointment takes effect October 27, 2014, is coming to PAFA from the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University, where she currently serves as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.  She joined the Ulrich Museum of Art in 2013 and has curated several important exhibitions. Before joining Ulrich Museum of Art, Throckmorton was an Associate Curator at the San Jose Museum of Art where she served from 2007-2013.

Speaking about this new appointment, Throckmorton expressed delight at the opportunity to work at such a great art institution. She notes:

It is a great honor to join the talented staff at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, an institution that I have admired for many years for its long-standing reputation as a leader in the field of American art. With such a rich legacy of exhibitions and impressive collections, I am eager to build on PAFA’s strength in contemporary art and to connect the institution’s rich legacy with the art of today.

When she takes up her position in October, Throckmorton will oversee PAFA’s contemporary art exhibition programs. She will also work closely with the Collections Committee and Museum Director to reinvigorate PAFA’s historic dedication to acquiring contemporary art.  Her responsibilities include curatorial responsibility for gifts and purchases of artwork. She will also ensure that works in the permanent collection, post-1965 are adequately cared for and presented to the art audience. Additionally, Throckmorton will also use PAFA’s program of contemporary art exhibitions and artists’ projects to integrate the Museum and School in creative new ways.

Excitement at PAFA About the New Fine Art Curator

Harry Philbrick, the Edna S. Tuttleman Director of the is thrilled that Throckmorton is joining the PAFA.  Tuttleman who has collaborated with Throckmorton on projects understands the value of having such a great talent at PAFA. He said that “I am delighted that Jodi will be joining PAFA. Her skill as a curator, as well as passion and enthusiasm, became clear when I had the pleasure of working with her on PAFA’s Eric Fischl exhibition in 2012.” “Jodi’s essay in PAFA’s Female Gaze exhibition catalog (2013), he notes further “ is evidence of her superb skills as a writer, as well as her outstanding scholarship. She is, in short, talented and well-rounded addition to PAFA’s curatorial team. Jodi will be a wonderful ambassador to the community, and play a key role in expanding PAFA’s contemporary program.”

Throckmorton, who earned her MFA in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University, and her BA in Art History and French from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has curated many important exhibitions. During her time at the Ulrich Museum, Throckmorton curated Postdate: Photography and Inherited History in India (2015); Bruce Conner: Somebody Else’s Prints (2014); as well as Free Texts: Stephanie Syjuco (2014). At the San Jose Museum of Art, her curatorial projects included Questions from the Sky: New Work by Hung Liu (2013); Ranu Mukherjee: Telling Fortunes (2012); Renegade Humor (2012); This Kind of Bird Flies Backward: Paintings by Joan Brown (2011); The Modern Photographer: Observation and Intention (2010); and Vital Signs: New Media from the Permanent Collection (2010).

ART NEWS | READ ALSO: Getty Museum Appoints Senior Curators of Paintings and Antiquities

Throckmorton’s appointment as curator of contemporary art at the PAFA is expected to revitalize the PAFA’s established art tradition. Her curatorial successes and track record speak for themselves. There is no doubt that Throckmorton is a great choice for this great art institution.

Do you know Jodi Throckmorton, the new curator of contemporary art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts? Share your love for the new fine art curator. Leave a comment.