Jonathan Shaughnessy is a Canadian

curator A curator (from la, cura, 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 parti ...

in the field 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 ...

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

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

. He is also an Adjunct Professor with the Department of Visual Arts at

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

Career

Jonathan Shaughnessy received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

from Concordia University in 2001 and his Masters of

Communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language 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 serve returning Wo ...

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 Carsten Höller (born December 1961) is a German artist. He lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.Alice Rawsthorn (January 2012)"Cliff Hanger - The Ghanaian home of artists Carsten Höller and Marcel Odenbach goes above—and beyond" ''W Magazi ...

'' at Shawinigan Space in Shawinigan, 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 located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

. Notable recent exhibitions include ''

Vera Frenkel Vera Frenkel D. Litt (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 ...

: Ways of Telling'' at the

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA), formerly known as the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), is a museum and art gallery in Toronto, Ontario. It is an independent, registered charitable organization. ...

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 a building at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley, alth ...

and

. The exhibition included work by

Sarah Sze Sarah Sze (; born 1969) is an American artist widely recognized for challenging the boundaries of painting, installation, and architecture. Sze's sculptural practice ranges from slight gestures discovered in hidden spaces to expansive installat ...

Yinka Shonibare Yinka Shonibare (born 9 August 1962), is a British-Nigerian artist living in the United Kingdom. His work explores cultural identity, colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. A hallmark of his art is t ...

Tricia Middleton Tricia Middleton (born 1972) is an installation artist based in Montreal, Quebec. Middleton's artistic practice often involves the creation of elaborate, large-scale installations built out of a variety of materials including trash, wax, craft sup ...

David Altmejd David Altmejd (born 1974) is a Canadian sculptor who lives and works in Los Angeles. He creates highly detailed sculptures that often blur the distinction between interior and exterior, surface and structure, figurative representation and abstra ...

, Lee Bul and

Bharti Kher Bharti Kher is a contemporary artist. In a career spanning nearly three decades, she has worked across painting, sculpture and installation. Throughout her practice she has displayed an unwavering relationship with the body, its narratives, and ...

. 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 Snow (born December 10, 1928) is a Canadian artist working in a range of media including film, installation, sculpture, photography, and music. His best-known films are '' Wavelength'' (1967) and '' La Région Centrale'' (1971), with the ...

Irene Whittome Irene F. Whittome, is a multimedia artist. Life Whittome was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 4, 1942. She attended the Vancouver School of Art, and then spent five years studying printmaking at Stanley William Hayter's ''Atelier 17 ...

Liz Magor Liz Magor (born 1948) is a Canadian visual artist based in Vancouver. She is well known for her sculptures that address themes of history, shelter and survival through objects that reference still life, domesticity and wildlife. She often re-purpo ...

Martin Honert Martin Honert (born 1953) is a German artist based in Düsseldorf. He is known for making veristic sculptures of memories or images related to his childhood. Work Honert was born in Bottrop, West Germany and attended the Staatliche Kunstakademie ...

Giuseppe Penone Giuseppe Penone (born 3 April 1947, Garessio) is an Italian artist and sculptor, known for his large-scale sculptures of trees that are 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

, 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)