BRUCE MUSEUM
Margarita Karasoulas named Curator of Art
Karasoulas was the Bruce’s Grunberg Resident Intern in 2012-2013 and returned in 2016 to guest curate Electric Paris, an exhibition exploring the period of transition from gas to electric lighting in Paris and its aesthetic impact on the portrayals of public spaces and private interiors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While at the Brooklyn Museum, she curated several exhibitions and served two years as Interim Department Head of American Art, where she had oversight of the loan program, bi-annual gallery rotations, donor cultivation and patron groups, including the Council for African American Art and Young Leadership Council.
Karasoulas specializes in the art, photography, and visual culture of the United States, with a particular research interest in the Ashcan School and early-20th-c. American Modernism. Her dissertation, titled Mapping Immigrant New York: Race and Place in Ashcan Visual Culture, explored the racial significance of the art of the Ashcan School in the context of period debates about immigration.
Karasoulas was selected after a national search led by Lora Urbanelli, a Senior Search Consultant at Museum Search & Reference.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Margarita as Curator of Art,” said Robert Wolterstorff, The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director of the Bruce Museum. “She shares our vision of moving the Bruce’s exhibitions and collection forward in the direction of global Modern and Contemporary art, while embracing our wonderful historical collections. I look forward to working with her as we prepare to enter a new era at the Bruce.” Karasoulas commented: “I have long been impressed by the Bruce Museum’s history of presenting ambitious, scholarly exhibitions, as well as its interdisciplinary approach to art and science. Returning to the Bruce in this new capacity is an exciting opportunity to help advance the Museum’s mission at this pivotal moment."
