Paige Rozanski has officially settled into her new role as associate curator of modern and contemporary art at the Toledo Museum of Art, bringing with her nearly 14 years of experience from the National Gallery of Art and a passion for exploring how various art forms reflect human creativity and cultural history. Since starting her position in June, Rozanski has already immersed herself in several major projects at the museum.
"I've always been incredibly interested in visual culture and cultural history, and I really feel like artists are at the forefront of helping us envision the future that we want to live in, or to think about the future, and to help us engage in the societal or cultural issues of our time," said Rozanski, who brings an interdisciplinary background in cultural studies to her new position. As an ambassador for art from the most recent centuries of human history, she will work alongside a team of curators to present works across all mediums that help tell the story of these pivotal periods.
Toledo Museum of Art director Adam Levine emphasized the global scope of Rozanski's role and expertise. "The overall story we're telling is that across time, human society has always been connected," Levine explained. "She is going to be able to cut across geographies so that we can really tell an exciting and global story of modern and contemporary art." Levine noted that Rozanski has already engaged with projects from every continent and almost every medium imaginable.
Rozanski specializes in post-war era art, with particular expertise in 1960s and 1970s art movements, as well as extensive experience working with living artists. During her tenure at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, she focused on painting and sculpture media and contributed to more than a dozen exhibitions. Her notable projects included "The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans," which featured work by about 15 Native contemporary artists, the retrospective "Philip Guston Now," and "Los Angeles to New York: Dwan Gallery, 1959-1971," which required several years of research. She also commissioned the site-specific work "SORRY" by artist Kay Rosen.
The curatorial approach at Toledo Museum of Art differs significantly from traditional museum structures. While different institutions date the modern and contemporary periods differently - with modern art starting anywhere from 1860 to 1945, and contemporary art typically spanning from 1970 to present - Toledo Museum of Art reorganized its curatorial team in 2020. The museum expanded its curatorial staff to four times its previous size and shifted focus from medium-based divisions to geography and chronology-based approaches.
This new structure means Rozanski will handle all mediums of modern art, from painting and photography to sculpture and works on paper - a broader scope than her previous role in Washington but with a smaller team. The chronological focus also creates opportunities for collaboration with other curators, such as Diana Wright, the museum's senior curator of glass and contemporary craft. Together, they might work on fiber and textile art projects or exhibitions like "Radiance and Reverie: Jewels from the Collection of Neil Lane," which opened recently and features more than 150 pieces by Hollywood's famed jeweler, celebrating jewelry as both art and cultural artifact.
Rozanski has already introduced several exhibitions that showcase the intersection of art and technology. "Infinite Images: The Art of Algorithms," which explores how art and technology converge, opened in July and runs through November 30. Additionally, "Beeple Studios: TRANSIENT BLOOM," featuring generative artwork that blends digital and natural worlds, opened in September and continues through February 22. These exhibitions reflect contemporary art's incorporation of digital and multimedia works, areas where Rozanski's interdisciplinary approach proves valuable.
"I'm pretty interdisciplinary, so I like thinking about art in many different forms, and our team is very collaborative in nature," Rozanski explained. Her educational background supports this approach - she studied anthropology with a focus in art history and film at Vassar College before pursuing her master's degree in modern art at Columbia University.
The curator has jumped headfirst into what she describes as an ambitious and forward-thinking museum environment. She's particularly excited about the museum-wide reinstallation project that will reconfigure Toledo Museum of Art's layout to follow a chronological flow by 2027, replacing the current exhibit groupings organized by geography and medium. Both Rozanski and Levine hope to activate spaces in innovative ways and incorporate artist commissions as part of this transformation.
"Paige has rolled up her sleeves and gotten really involved in several of those," Levine noted, praising her hands-on approach to the reinstallation project. Rozanski has found it rewarding to participate in finalizing the galleries of modern and contemporary art for this major reorganization. "I am excited for some artist commissions that will be part of that, and just becoming more involved with the museum and our amazing residency programs," she said.
Community engagement represents a crucial aspect of Rozanski's curatorial philosophy. She has already begun meeting artists and arts professionals in Toledo and looks forward to discovering more regional talent. "There's great people doing great things here, so I definitely think it's important to be part of that community and to be able to learn from them," Rozanski observed. "As a curator, there's projects you personally want to work on, or you think are important and you believe will resonate with audiences for certain reasons. But then I also want to make sure that I'm considering the community in the type of programming that I develop."
Looking toward the future, Rozanski is interested in exploring opportunities for immersive and experiential art, performance art, and engaging with local artists for site-specific projects. Her approach to curation emphasizes highlighting artists' voices through various means - conducting oral interviews with living artists or pursuing historical research for those no longer alive. "I think a lot of being a curator is relationship building," she explained regarding her work with living artists, noting that she often maintains contact with them long after completing projects. "I feel some sort of responsibility to making sure that their legacy is out there for people to discover their work."
Director Levine believes Rozanski brings both the right expertise and cultural fit to the Toledo Museum of Art. "She exemplifies our values of community, innovation, diversity and trust," he stated. "In her first several months with us, she has demonstrated her commitment to engaging with the community here, thinking innovatively, leveraging that breadth into diverse curatorial practice, and stewarding the trust our community places in us." As Rozanski continues to establish herself in Toledo, her global perspective and collaborative approach promise to bring fresh energy to the museum's modern and contemporary art programming while honoring the local community's needs and interests.
