Like the slick Johnny-come-lately it is, the Nasher Museum of Art is relying on a web of connections and a family name-rather than deep pockets-to stay on the cutting edge.
And so far, the strategy's working. Two recent additions to the museum's arsenal of resources-one new staff member and one curious sculpture-are part of the museum's plan to refine its future focus.
Trevor Schoonmaker, a 36-year-old independent curator currently based in New York City, is the museum's new curator for contemporary art, director Kimerly Rorschach confirmed in late January-a move Senior Curator Sarah Schroth calls "a very, very important hire."
Schoonmaker's own notoriety springs from the breadth and variety of his pursuits as an independent curator in New York City.
He is the co-director and founder of the Brooklyn Institute of Contemporary Art, and in 1993, curated a critically acclaimed show entitled "BLACK PRESIDENT: The Art and Legacy of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti." The exhibition centered on the life and times of Kuti, an Afrobeat musician and political activist in Nigeria.
But Schoonmaker brings not just a wealth of experience or familiarity with the academic world (he has both a bachelor of arts and a master's degree in art history). His contacts, both in the art and media worlds, make him an invaluable asset, says Schroth.
"He's in the inner circle. There are several inner circles in New York-there's the glitzy inner circle with the Jasper Johnses and all of that," Schroth says, "but Trevor belongs to a different one, one that is more interested in the artists that are under the radar."
Schoonmaker counts some of these artists, as well as prominent critics, among his friends and colleagues.
And at a museum where financial resources are finite-the Nasher is actively raising a $10 million endowment, some of which will be used for acquisitions-connectedness is all the more important.
"To be well-connected is to know which dealers to call, where to visit, how to formulate your concept-whether through an individual exhibit or through a thematic exhibit," Schroth says.
Schoonmaker, she says, is also pleasantly off-beat and capable of unorthodox thinking.
Attracting candidates for the job was hardly an easy feat, with Nasher's goal for an international reputation hampered by its North Carolina location. Yet with family in the area, Schoonmaker was able to make a sacrifice few others in New York's curatorial avant garde were willing to do-he will move here in July.
Hubbub over Schoonmaker's addition to the staff is matched by the buzz over the Nasher's first purchase, finalized and announced Jan. 20-Petah Coyne's contemporary installation "Untitled #1111." The work is widely considered to be the artist's to-date masterpiece.
"[Coyne's] works are selling steadily," Schroth says. "The same year that we bought one of [Coyne's] works, the Met bought one. Then either the Guggenheim or the Whitney bought one-so we really jumped on at the right time."
And it has paved the way for future acquisitions-specifically, hinting that contemporary sculpture, while not the single priority in the Nasher's creative vision, will be its focus in the future.
Such a focus fits with the Nasher family legacy as well. The Nashers first earned prominence in the art world as collectors of envelope-pushers in the art world; Schroth and Rorschach envision the museum as furthering its reputation as a contemporary collector in the weeks and months to come.
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