Museum of Arts And Design New York, Appoints Christian Larsen as Windgate Research Curator

In this position, funded by the Windgate Charitable Foundation, Larsen will lead an educational and curatorial partnership between the Museum of Arts and Design and Bard Graduate Center (BGC) to increase the visibility of craft and design in art history and the contemporary art world. He replaces Elissa Auther who was named Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator last September.

'With great enthusiasm, we welcome Christian to the curatorial team at MAD,” said Chris Scoates, Nanette L. Laitman Director. “A respected curator and scholar, his ability to integrate research, teaching, and curating to articulate contemporary concerns and critiques with the craft and design community will prove instrumental in bringing our curatorial vision to life for visitors to our galleries.”

Larsen brings to MAD more than twenty years of research, writing, curating, and teaching experience. His scholarship is grounded in the history of craft and design from the nineteenth century through to the present day, with a focus on Latin American architecture and design. Prior to joining MAD, he had been Associate Curator of Modern Decorative Arts and Design at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City (2015–19), where he organized Ettore Sottsass: Design Radical at The Met Breuer (2017). He also served as custodian to one of the most important collections of French Art Deco outside of Paris.

As Curator at the Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, (2013–15), Larsen’s exhibition and catalog Philodendron: From Pan-Latin Exotic to American Modern (2015) received an Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation Exhibition Award. Previously, he worked as Curatorial Assistant in the Architecture and Design Department of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, (2000–08), where he organized several exhibitions, including Digitally Mastered (2006–07), 50 Years of Helvetica (2007–08), and Ateliers Jean Prouvé (2008–09).

“I am thrilled to accept the position of Windgate Research Curator, a unique opportunity to further the partnership and collaboration between MAD, the Bard Graduate Center, and the Center for Craft in North Carolina. I especially look forward to engaging BGC students in the research and production of exhibition content for MAD,” said Larsen. “This position promises a multi-institutional commitment to exploring the contemporary intersections of art, craft, and design.”

Larsen received a BA from Amherst College (2000), and earned both an MA (2010) and an M.Phil (2013) in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center, where he is a doctoral candidate finishing his dissertation Aquarela do Brasil: Transnational Flows of Brazilian Design and Material Culture.