Museum Life

Serious Topics

What does the expertise of a museum curator and exhibition curator involve? How can these pivotal roles between artists, galleries, collectors and audiences be characterised? In what might be described as professional memoirs, Margit Rowell looks back on her career at some of the most prestigious museums in the United States and Europe between 1970 and 2005. It is an opportunity to explore the contours of a profession and capture a moment in the evolution of these institutions: the Guggenheim Museum and MoMA in New York, the Musée national d’art moderne in Paris, the Fundació Miró in Barcelona and the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid; retrospectives of Miró, Dubuffet, Mondrian and Brancusi; and major thematic exhibitions, including « Le livre d’avantgarde en Russie » and « Qu’est-ce que la sculpture moderne ? ». Through a series of lively accounts and case studies, blending anecdote and analysis, Margit Rowell presents a distinctive portrait of the curator at work: a self-portrait of a passionate and accomplished art professional.