Alma Ruiz is a

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, best known as a longtime, former senior curator at the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's ori ...

(MOCA).

Early life and education

Alma Ruiz was born and raised in Guatemala. At 19, she moved to Los Angeles to join her mother and brother, initially enrolling at Los Angeles City College, then transferring to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

where she graduated with a degree in art history. She then pursued a graduate degree in Italian Language and Literature from the

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

and

Università di Firenze The University of Florence (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolle ...

Career and work

After earning her degree, Ruiz worked in Florence until 1982, then returned to Los Angeles and joined MOCA, initially as executive assistant to director Richard Koshalek. In 1989 she became exhibitions director at MOCA. Ruiz's curatorial work focused on exhibitions of postwar artists, with an emphasis on emerging and Latin American artists. In 2016, she curated the 20 Bienal de Arte Paiz in Guatemala City.

Reception

Her curated exhibitions have received numerous positive reviews. Recently, art critics Hunter Drohojowska-Philp and Edward Goldman praised her work for the solo exhibition of Magdalena Fernández at MOCA Pacific Design Center.

Exhibitions

Selected curation for the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles: *''Jacob Hashimoto: Gas Giant'' (2014) *''Cinema Vezzoli'' (2012) *''Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space'' (2010) *''Poetics of the Handmade'' (2007) *''Gabriel Orozco'' (2000) *''The Experimental Exercise of Freedom: Lygia Clark, Gego, Mathias Goeritz, Hélio Oiticica, and Mira Schendel'' (1999) Additional exhibitions by Artists: *Magdalena Fernández *Ernesto Neto *William Kentridge *Ana Mendieta *Carlos Garaicoa *Piero Manzoni *Ad Reinhardt

Publications

*''Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space'', Published by the Museum of Contemporary Art, 2012. (editing and text) * ''Alexandra Grant'', Published by the Museum of Contemporary Art. (editing) * ''Poetics of the Handmade'', Published by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2007. (text) * ''Damián Ortega: The Beetle and Other Works'', Published by California Institute of the Arts/Redcat, 2006. (essay) * ''The Experimental Exercise of Freedom: Lygia Clark, Gego, Mathias Goeritz, Helio Oiticica'', Published by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2000. (contribution)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruiz, Alma Guatemalan emigrants to the United States American art curators American women curators Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women