AppointmentSeptember 6, 2024
Jose Roca, Curator at The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden recently announced the appointment of José Roca as the inaugural Estrellita B. Brodsky Curator at Large of Latin American and Latin Diasporic Art. Roca will support Hirshhorn leadership in assessing and expanding acquisitions of Latin American and Latin American diasporic holdings, initiating exhibitions and research, and broadening the support field for the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
“José Roca arrives at a critical moment for the Hirshhorn as we reimagine our campus design and collection depths to increase access to the nation’s collection of modern and contemporary art,” said Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu. “Joseph H. Hirshhorn seeded our need for this focused role with his initial gift to the nation in 1966, which included many of the then-groundbreaking artists who have become foundational to our collection. We are indebted to our equally forward-thinking board chair, Dr. Brodsky, for supporting Roca’s appointment, which expands our curatorial team with a focus on fulfilling our mission.”
“I am proud to support the Hirshhorn and the Museum’s wide-ranging vision for scholarship and public engagement,” said Estrellita B. Brodsky, Board chair of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. “The Museum has a world-class collection and a mandate to represent the nation’s diverse cultures. Adding José Roca to their curatorial team will offer an even broader understanding of modern and contemporary art from across the Americas.”
“As a curator who has championed art from the region both from within—I was the director of a museum in Colombia and later of an independent space—and abroad, this is a wonderful opportunity,” said Roca. “I am grateful to the Hirshhorn Museum and Estrellita Brodsky for this appointment.”
Roca will be responsible for engaging 20th- and 21st-century art from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America within the context of the Hirshhorn collection, which is grounded in visual art and culture from 1860 to the present. He will bolster the Museum’s Latin American and Latin American diasporic holdings by proposing future acquisitions and curating exhibitions.
The Hirshhorn’s collection includes works by Fernando Botero, Lucio Fontana, Wilfredo Lam, Julio Le Parc, Marisol, Matta, Rufino Tamayo and Joaquín Torres-García, among others. Since its opening in 1974, the Museum has acquired work by artists such as Carlos Cruz-Diez, Juan Francisco Elso, Ana Mendieta, Ernesto Neto, and Edgar Orlaineta, as well as more recent introductions of work by leading contemporary figures including Abraham Cruzvillegas, Guadalupe Maravilla and Liliana Porter. The museum’s forthcoming exhibition, OSGEMEOS: Endless Story, opens September 29.
For more information, visit https://hirshhorn.si.edu/.
“José Roca arrives at a critical moment for the Hirshhorn as we reimagine our campus design and collection depths to increase access to the nation’s collection of modern and contemporary art,” said Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu. “Joseph H. Hirshhorn seeded our need for this focused role with his initial gift to the nation in 1966, which included many of the then-groundbreaking artists who have become foundational to our collection. We are indebted to our equally forward-thinking board chair, Dr. Brodsky, for supporting Roca’s appointment, which expands our curatorial team with a focus on fulfilling our mission.”
“I am proud to support the Hirshhorn and the Museum’s wide-ranging vision for scholarship and public engagement,” said Estrellita B. Brodsky, Board chair of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. “The Museum has a world-class collection and a mandate to represent the nation’s diverse cultures. Adding José Roca to their curatorial team will offer an even broader understanding of modern and contemporary art from across the Americas.”
“As a curator who has championed art from the region both from within—I was the director of a museum in Colombia and later of an independent space—and abroad, this is a wonderful opportunity,” said Roca. “I am grateful to the Hirshhorn Museum and Estrellita Brodsky for this appointment.”
Roca will be responsible for engaging 20th- and 21st-century art from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America within the context of the Hirshhorn collection, which is grounded in visual art and culture from 1860 to the present. He will bolster the Museum’s Latin American and Latin American diasporic holdings by proposing future acquisitions and curating exhibitions.
The Hirshhorn’s collection includes works by Fernando Botero, Lucio Fontana, Wilfredo Lam, Julio Le Parc, Marisol, Matta, Rufino Tamayo and Joaquín Torres-García, among others. Since its opening in 1974, the Museum has acquired work by artists such as Carlos Cruz-Diez, Juan Francisco Elso, Ana Mendieta, Ernesto Neto, and Edgar Orlaineta, as well as more recent introductions of work by leading contemporary figures including Abraham Cruzvillegas, Guadalupe Maravilla and Liliana Porter. The museum’s forthcoming exhibition, OSGEMEOS: Endless Story, opens September 29.
For more information, visit https://hirshhorn.si.edu/.
