Michael Darling (born 1967) is the James W. Alsdorf Chief

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 ...

at the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary ...

(MCA). Darling joined the MCA staff in July 2010.

Life and education

Darling received his BA in art history from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and he received his MA and PhD in art and architectural history from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

. Darling has worked as an independent writer and curator, contributing essays on art, architecture, and design to publications including ''Frieze'', ''Art Issues'', ''Flash Art'', and ''LA Weekly''. Darling frequently serves as a panelist, lecturer, and guest curator on

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 com ...

and architecture.

Career

Prior to joining the MCA, Darling was the Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...

(SAM), where he was awarded SAM's Patterson Sims Fellowship for 2009-10. In 2008, Darling began the program ''SAM Next'', a series of contemporary art exhibitions presenting emerging or underappreciated artists from around the globe. Artist

Enrico David Enrico David (born 1966, Ancona, Italy) is an artist based in London. He works in painting, drawing, sculpture and installation, at times employing traditional craft techniques. In the 1990s he garnered acclaim for creating monumental embroidered ...

, who exhibited as part of ''SAM Next'', has since been nominated for the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

. Darling curated the SAM exhibitions ''Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-78'' (June 25 – September 7, 2009), and ''Kurt'' (May 13 – September 16, 2010). ''Target Practice'' showcased the attacks painting underwent in the years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. ''Kurt'' explored

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

’s influence on contemporary artists. Darling was associate 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 o ...

, before joining SAM. He co-curated ''The Architecture of R.M. Schindler'' (2001), which won the International Association of Art Critics “Best Architecture or Design Exhibition” award. The exhibition also won merit awards for interior architecture from the Southern California American Institute of Architects and the California Council of the American Institute of Architects.

MCA Vision

As reported by the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' in June 2011, Darling is focused on a “philosophical gut rehab f the MCAwhose ultimate goal is clarity.” Included in the MCA renovations are the reassignment of gallery spaces and the hiring of new curatorial staff. In 2011, Darling organized the exhibition ''Pandora’s Box: Joseph Cornell Unlocks the MCA Collection'' which ran June 18 – October 16, 2011, at the MCA Chicago. The exhibition placed pieces from the museum’s collection in direct dialogue with

Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and film-maker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of Assemblage (art), assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde e ...

’s work.“Pandora’s Box: Joseph Cornell Unlocks the MCA Collection,” Press Release, May 2011, Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago, accessed June 24, 2011, http://www.mcachicago.org/media_uploads/releases/2ee83Pandora%20Release.pdf. Darling’s most recently organized exhibitio
Before & After''
runs May 7, 2016–Jun 18, 2017 at the MCA Chicago. The artists featured in Above, Before & After manipulate form and space to explore the relationship between art and the viewer.

References

External links

Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Michael 1968 births Living people American art curators Stanford University alumni University of California, Santa Barbara alumni