Biography
Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev is a curator who researches artistic practices, the histories of art, and the politics of aesthetics and multispecies co-evolution.
She is the Director of Fondazione Francesco Federico Cerruti and Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea in Turin where she has curated numerous exhibitions, including Anne Imhof. SEX (with Marcella Beccaria, 2020); Michael Rakowitz. Imperfect Binding (with Marianna Vecellio, 2019); and Hito Steyerl. The City of Broken Windows (with Marianna Vecellio, 2018). Other curatorial projects include Revolutions: Forms That Turn, 16th Biennale of Sydney (2008) and Around 1984: A Look at Art in the Eighties, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, a MoMA affiliate, New York (2000).
In 2018, Christov-Bakargiev co-curated the Sharjah presentation of the travelling exhibition Anna Boghiguian with Hoor Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah Art Foundation.
She has written and co-authored a number of articles, catalogues and books, including Adrian Villar Rojas (Phaidon Press, 2020); Hito Steyerl. The City of Broken Windows (Skira Milan–Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, 2018); Arte Povera (Phaidon, 2014); and Arte Identita' Confini (Carte Segrete, Roma, 1995).
Named the most powerful person in the art world by ArtReview’s Power 100 listings (2012), Christov-Bakargiev has received the Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence (2019). She has also participated in numerous academic residencies and held positions that include Edith Kreeger Wolf Distinguished Visiting Professor in Art Theory and Practice, Northwestern University (2013–2019) and Getty Research Institute Visiting Scholar, The Getty Center, Los Angeles (2015).
Christov-Bakargiev studied literature, philology, language and art history, and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pisa (1981).
Born in 1957 in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Christov-Bakargiev lives and works in Turin.
SAF participation:
March Meeting 2021
Anna Boghiguian (2018, co-curated with Hoor Al Qasimi)
