Bobbi Coller, PhD
Bobbi Coller Ph. D. is an art historian, art educator, and independent curator. She received a B.S. in Education from New York University and her Ph.D. in Art History from the Graduate Center, CUNY. She is the co‐creator of The Pulse of Art and is a Lecturer at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She was previously an Adjunct Professor of Art History at C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. Currently she serves as Chairperson of the Advisory Committee of The Pollock‐Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, New York; Director of the O.Z. Gallery, New York; and as a member of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Education Committee. She has curated over 30 exhibitions for museums and galleries.
Advisory Boards
Chairperson, The Pollock Krasner House and Study Center, Easthampton, N.Y.- currently
Successfully completed an endowment campaign which raised $3.5 million and secured an endowed chair in Art History at Stony Brook University, 2012
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Education Committee
Steering Committee Mount Sinai Medical School Humanities and Medicine Program, current
New York Academy of Medicine
Advisory Board Southampton College, 2010
The Staller Center, S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook, 1991-1993
The Institute for Medicine in Contemporary Society, S.U.N.Y., Stony Brook, 1991-1993
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE (Selected)
“Pollock’s Champions” – Exhibition at The Pollock Krasner House and Study Center first to examine the special relationship between the artist and his three dealers: Peggy Guggenheim, Betty Parsons, and Sidney Janis. Aug. 31-Oct. 31, 2014
“The Persistence of Pollock” –To celebrate the centennial of Jackson Pollock’s birth, examples of artists from 1950 to the present whose work reflects Pollock’s legacy including Janine Antoni, Vic Muniz, Ray Johnson, Joe Fig and Lynda Benglis. Pollock Krasner House and Study Center, Springs, New York 2012. Selected by Dan’s Papers as the favorite show of 2012
"Millennium Messages" Organized for the Heckscher Museum of Art , Huntington, N.Y. and for travel under the auspices of SITES (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions Service). The exhibition included "time capsules" made especially for the exhibition and to mark the millennium by noted artists, architects and designers including Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Faith Ringgold, Petah Coyne, Carrie Mae Weems, Leon Golub, Lawrence Weiner, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Milton Glaser, Karim Rashid, and Massimo and Lella Vignelli, among others.1999-2001
"The Edge of Childhood." The Heckscher Museum, Huntington, N.Y. An exhibition of recent art in which artists utilized childhood motifs and references to comment on contemporary issues. Some of the artists included: Rona Pondick, Gary Simmons, Alexis Smith, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.1992
"The Realm of the Coin: Money in Contemporary Art." The Hofstra Museum. Exhibition of works from the 1960s to the present that explore concepts of worth, wealth, and value. Included work by Andy Warhol, Barton Lidice Benes, J.S.G. Boggs, Mary Kelly, David Wojnarowicz and others, 1991. Exhibition sponsored by SITES for travel to 11 cities throughout the United States from 1992-1994
"Choice Pairs: Contrasts and Affinities in the Heckscher Collection." Exhibition selected from the museum's permanent collection that paired works to highlight connections and differences. Included works by Daniel Chester French, Hyram Powers, Thomas Moran, George Luks, John Sloan, Roy Lichtenstein, and Audrey Flack. Reviewed by Roberta Smith in The New York Times, August 4, 1989.
"The Artist's Mother: Portraits and Homages." The Heckscher Museum and The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Exhibition of 20th century art, in a variety of media, that depicted or paid homage to the artist's mother. Some of the artists whose portraits were included were Egon Schiele, Arshile Gorky, John Sloan, George Bellows, Alice Neel, May Stevens, and David Hockney. Originated the concept, curated the exhibition, wrote the main catalogue essay, assisted with the educational programs and the installation. 1988
"Sights for Small Eyes." Contemporary art, in a variety of media, chosen for its appeal to children as well as adults. Artists included Kenny Scharf, Rodney Alan Greenblat, and Marisol among others. 1985
"Cardboard Canvases: Record Albums and Art." The Hofstra Museum. An original examination of the influence of fine art on the design of record album covers and the involvement of gallery artists in popular music. Responsible for the concept, the selection of the work, catalogue essay and design, and gallery installation. 1984
"Paris: Nature and the City." The Hofstra Museum. An exhibition of French photographs and works on paper from c. 1850-1900 that showed the rebuilding of Paris and establishment of parks within the city. Wrote the grant request for the New York State Council on the Arts. 1982
"Italian Design, Now!." The Hofstra Museum. Exhibition of over seventy objects designed in Italy during the previous twenty-five years. Objects included automobiles, furniture, decorative arts, and graphic arts. 1980
"Double Exposure: Alfredo Valente as Photographer and Collector." Hillwood Museum, Long Island University. Exhibition of over sixty photographs taken by Alfredo Valente and fifty paintings by 20th century American artists from the Valente collection. 1978