Jonathan Shaughnessy is a Canadian

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 ...

in the field of

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. In 2022, he was made Director, Curatorial Initiatives at the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

. He is also an adjunct professor with the Department of Visual Arts at

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

Career

Jonathan Shaughnessy received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in

Art History Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

in 2001 and his Masters of

Communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

in 2004. Shaughnessy has worked with numerous Canadian and international artists. As Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, he curated ''One, Some, Many: 3 Shows by Carsten Höller'' at Shawinigan Space in

Shawinigan Shawinigan (; ) is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,620 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) ...

, Quebec in 2007. This was the artist's first solo exhibition in Canada. In 2010, Shaughnessy was coordinating curator of the exhibition ''Pop Life: Art in a Material World'' for the

, organized by

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

. Notable exhibitions include ''

Vera Frenkel Vera Frenkel (born November 10, 1938) is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Her installations, videotapes, performances and new media projects address the forces at work in human migration, the learning and unlearning of cultu ...

: Ways of Telling'' at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in 2014. Shaughnessy was also organizing curator of ''Builders'', the Canadian contemporary art biennial, which was exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada from November 2011 to February 2012. He also curated ''

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

: 1911-2010'', which was exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada and Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in 2011-2013. In 2013 and 2014, Shaughnessy co-curated ''Misled by Nature: Contemporary Art and the Baroque'' with Josée Drouin-Brisebois and Catherine Crowston for the

Art Gallery of Alberta The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies an building at Churchill Square (Edmonton), Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittor ...

and Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. The exhibition included work by Sarah Sze, Yinka Shonibare, Tricia Middleton, David Altmejd,

Lee Bul Lee Bul ( Korean: 이불; 李昢; born 1964) is a South Korean artist who works in various mediums, including performance, sculpture, installation, architecture, and media art. As curators such as Stephanie Rosenthal and art historians such as ...

and Bharti Kher. In addition to curatorial projects, Shaughnessy has written for numerous exhibition catalogues. In 2005, he contributed an essay to ''The Elements of Nature'' featuring the work of

Michael Snow Michael James Aleck Snow (December 10, 1928 – January 5, 2023) was a Canadian artist who worked in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are ''Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Rég ...

, Irene Whittome, Liz Magor, Martin Honert,

Giuseppe Penone Giuseppe Penone (born 3 April 1947, Garessio) is an Italian artist and sculptor, known for his large-scale sculptures of trees. He is interested in the link between man and the natural world.

and others. He has also written for '' Cai Guo-Qiang: Long Scroll'', ''Three Shows'' by Carsten Höller, and ''Art Metropole: The Top 100''.

References

External links

Dialogues in the White Cube: Acquisitions for the Contemporary Art Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaughnessy, Jonathan Canadian art critics Canadian art curators Living people Year of birth missing (living people)