Curator Chat

We Ask Leading Museum Curators About What’s Going On In Their World

Kory Rogers
Francie and John Downing Senior Curator of American Art
Shelburne Museum
6000 Shelburne Road, Shelburne, VT 05482 www.shelburnemuseum.org

What event (gallery show, museum exhibit, etc.) in the next few months are you looking forward to, and why?

I’m eager to see the Peabody Essex Museum’s Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums exhibition. The intriguing blend of the macabre and mystical has fascinated me since childhood, and I’m particularly excited to see how the objects are curated to tell this supernatural story. I’m also interested in how the exhibition design will contribute to creating an otherworldly atmosphere.

What are you reading?

I’m currently alternating between two books. Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy’s Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals—offers a compelling and vivid chronicle of the U.S. animal rights movement, exploring a topic close to my heart. When the gory details become too intense, I turn to R. Tripp Evans’ beautifully written and engaging exhibition catalog, The Importance of Being Furnished: Four Bachelors at Home, which delves into the lives and creative legacies of four queer antiquarians whose lives spanned the Gilded and Jazz Ages.

Interesting exhibit, gallery opening or work of art you’ve seen recently.

My husband and I recently took my father-in-law on his first visit to MASS MoCA, where we experienced Chris Doyle’s The Coast of Industry. This installation features a video animation projected onto a 300-foot wall, accompanied by symphonic audio. The dynamic visuals, combined with the comfort of beanbag chairs, created an immersive and contemplative atmosphere. The experience compelled us to remain fully present in the moment, leaving our minds in a pleasantly disoriented state—a nice break from reality.

What are you researching at the moment?

I’m currently researching an exhibition about artificial camouflage patterns that I’m tentatively calling Hide and Chic. This exhibition examines the complex history of camouflage patterns and their varied applications by the military, hunters, fashion designers, and fine artists to conceal and disrupt the human form in its surroundings. It will explore the optical and psychological principles that make camouflage patterns functional and aesthetically appealing.

What is your dream exhibit to curate? Or see someone else curate?

If given the chance, I would curate an exhibition from my personal collections, ranging from 19th-century Staffordshire children’s plates to mid-century figural aquarium bubblers. This exercise would challenge me to critically assess my collections and consider a deaccession plan, which would certainly please my minimalist husband. It would be a deeply personal project, yet one that encourages reflection and growth.