Eva Respini (born 1976) is a curator of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

who served as chief curator (2015–2023) and deputy director for curatorial affairs (2022–2023) at the

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is an art museum and exhibition space located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. The museum was founded as the Boston Museum of Modern Art in 1936. Since then it has gone through multiple na ...

. She is also a lecturer at

Harvard University Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

Early life and education

Respini was born and raised in Europe, but has lived in the United States for over two decades. Her father is Italian and her mother is Norwegian. She has lived in Croatia (then Yugoslavia), France, Italy, and Switzerland. She received a bachelor's degree in Art History and master's degree in Modern Art and Critical Theory from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

, and was a 2014 fellow at the Center for Curatorial Leadership.

Career

Respini is the Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and Barbara Lee Chief Curator at the

(ICA), where she has been since 2015. Prior to the ICA, Respini was a curator at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

, where she organized contemporary art and photography exhibitions. At the ICA, Respini has curated solo presentations with artists including

Firelei Báez Firelei Báez (born 1981) is a Dominican Republic, Dominican artist based in New York City known for intricate works on paper and canvas, as well as large scale sculpture. Her art explores the Western canon through the elements of Western world, ...

(2021), Deana Lawson (2021),

John Akomfrah John Akomfrah (born 4 May 1957) is a British artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist and curator of Ghanaian descent, whose "commitment to a radicalism both of politics and of cinematic form finds expression in all his films". A ...

(2019),

Huma Bhabha Huma Bhabha (born 1962) is a Pakistani-American sculptor based in Poughkeepsie, New York. Known for her uniquely grotesque, figurative forms that often appear dissected or dismembered, Bhabha often uses found materials in her sculptures, includi ...

(2019), and William Forsythe (2018), as well as thematic exhibitions such as ''When Home Won’t Let You Stay: Migration through Contemporary Art'' (2019) and ''Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today'' (2018). At the Museum of Modern Art, her noteworthy exhibitions include retrospectives of

Walid Raad Walid Raad (Ra'ad) (Arabic: وليد رعد) (born 1967 in Chbanieh, Lebanon) is a contemporary media artist. The Atlas Group is a fictional collective, the work of which is produced by Walid Raad. He lives and works in New York, where he is curr ...

(2015) and

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

(2012). Respini served as co-commissioner and curator of the

U.S. Pavilion The United States Pavilion (also known as the U.S. Pavilion and Federal Pavilion) was a pavilion at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. Themed to the "challenge to greatness", it was designed for the 1964 New ...

's historic

Simone Leigh Simone Leigh (born 1967) is an American artist from Chicago who works in New York City in the United States. She works in various media including sculpture, installations, video, performance, and social practice. Leigh has described her work as au ...

exhibition for the

59th Venice Biennale The 59th Venice Biennale is an international contemporary art exhibition held between April and November 2022. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Cecilia Alemani curated its central exhibition. B ...

in 2022. Respini is also working with Leigh on her first museum survey exhibition, scheduled for 2023 at the ICA.

Other activities

In addition to her work as a curator, Respini teaches seminars on curating contemporary art at

. She is the author of many books and catalogues, and contributes magazine and journal articles on the topics of contemporary art and photography. In 2017, Respini served on the jury for the stand prizes of

Frieze Art Fair Frieze Art Fair is an international contemporary art fair in London, New York, and Los Angeles. Frieze London takes place every October in London's Regent's Park. In the US, the fair ran on New York's Randall's Island from 2012–19 and in 20 ...

.Sarah P. Hanson (4 May 2017)
Galleries showing historic feminist and politically minded artists win Frieze stand prizes
''

The Art Newspaper ''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments ...

''.

References

External links

* American women curators American art curators Living people 1976 births Writers from Boston Harvard University faculty American writers of Italian descent American people of Norwegian descent People associated with the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) Writers from New York City Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Respini, Eva