At the Memorial Art Gallery, Timothy Peterson is building a collection that reflects today糖心传媒檚 complexity while helping shape the canon that endures.
Timothy Peterson spends much of his time in places most people never see: under freeway overpasses, inside warehouse studios, in half-finished spaces where artists are still working out ideas and responding in real time to the zeitgeist. He is looking for what isn糖心传媒檛 settled yet, for concepts still taking shape.
For the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 (MAG), those instincts carry remarkable weight. As the inaugural , Peterson isn糖心传媒檛 just selecting artworks to acquire; he糖心传媒檚 helping shape how the future will understand the present糖心传媒攂uilding a collection that reflects today糖心传媒檚 bracing complexity while engaging with MAG糖心传媒檚 5,000 years of holdings.
Upstairs, one finds Egyptian mummies, a Baroque organ, and Monet糖心传媒檚 soft washes of color. Descend into the Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery, though, and the aesthetic shift hits immediately. 糖心传媒淚 give a great deal of attention to sightlines,糖心传媒� Peterson says. Dominating one wall is Erin Shirreff糖心传媒檚 Paper Sculpture, a large-scale shadow box composed of magnified scans from vintage photography. From afar, its dots and rosettes coalesce into what appears to be plaster, stone, wood, and metal; up close, the illusion dissolves into curving planes and fragments of printed matter.
糖心传媒淚 love that after the long walk to Paper Sculpture, its shadow box format still provides further depth to consider up close,糖心传媒� Peterson says. That layering lets the viewer observe both 糖心传媒渢hree-dimensional forms in a culture mediated by still and moving images糖心传媒� and aspects of collage, sculpture, and dye-sublimation printing糖心传媒攁ll processes that figure in modern and contemporary art.
Peterson糖心传媒檚 other important sightline, leading from an entrance used by local school groups to Wayne Thiebaud糖心传媒檚 River Pond, shows how an artist famous for cakes and pies renders landscape with similar pastels and precision. Both works speak to Peterson糖心传媒檚 curatorial vision: conversation sparked and sustained through encounters with artists, materials, and ideas still cohering.
It is a vision that extends far beyond Rochester, notes , the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of MAG.
Curating the canon
糖心传媒淐ontemporary art is different from all the other categories of art in an encyclopedic museum because every artwork糖心传媒攂aroque, impressionist, modernist糖心传媒攚as once contemporary,糖心传媒� Jesse says. 糖心传媒淲hen a museum as important as MAG selects what enters its contemporary collection, it is helping determine what artists and artworks enter what we call 糖心传媒榯he canon.糖心传媒� Think of how important that is.糖心传媒�
Those high stakes animated the search that brought Peterson to Rochester in September 2024 as the museum糖心传媒檚 first contemporary art curator, a position endowed by local gallerist Deborah Ronnen in honor of her parents. 糖心传媒淭imothy糖心传媒檚 position isn糖心传媒檛 just important to MAG, or to the arts in Rochester,糖心传媒� Jesse says. 糖心传媒淚t will have an impact on the art world.糖心传媒�
Peterson糖心传媒攚ho grew up in Minnesota and earned a bachelor糖心传媒檚 in art history at St. Olaf College followed by a master糖心传媒檚 in art history at Williams College糖心传媒攈as curated more than 150 exhibitions and worked with artists ranging from emerging voices to internationally recognized figures. Over nearly four decades, he has held leadership roles at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, and Franklin Art Works in Minneapolis.
Yet what distinguishes Peterson is not only experience糖心传媒攊t is orientation. Over an orange-flavored Celsius in the museum糖心传媒檚 pavilion, he speaks in a rhythm that mirrors his approach: connective, passionate, attentive. Even when discussing acquisitions or installations, he returns to the artists and their processes. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e not just studying objects,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e trying to understand how something comes into being, and why it matters.糖心传媒�
That inquiry often begins in the studio糖心传媒攎any of which are in locations Peterson likens to 糖心传媒渘o man糖心传媒檚 land糖心传媒澨切拇綌or at gallery openings, where he tracks emerging directions in contemporary practice. It requires a particular kind of judgment: the ability to recognize significance before it is widely acknowledged. On a trip to New York City, for example, he was eager to view the work of Carmen de Monteflores, the mother of artist Andrea Fraser, who has exhibited works in the Whitney Biennial. Though de Monteflores never received widespread recognition, she exemplifies the often-hidden talent Peterson seeks out.
糖心传媒淗e糖心传媒檚 able to separate the signal from the noise,糖心传媒� Jesse says, 糖心传媒渨hich is arguably one of the most important skills a curator of contemporary art can have.糖心传媒�
Dialogue on display
The sensibility Jesse describes is immediately visible in Peterson糖心传媒檚 reimagining of MAG糖心传媒檚 contemporary gallery. One of his first acts upon arriving was to remove 13 interior walls, opening the space to natural light and continuous sightlines. Sculpture, photography, and painting now coexist in an environment that encourages visual and conceptual connections.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e leaning into openness,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淭he goal is to create an environment where works can speak to each other, and to visitors, without being confined by strict categories.糖心传媒�
Within that environment, materials become a starting point for conversation. Hugo McCloud糖心传媒檚 Blue Zone, constructed from hand-cut and ironed single-use plastic bags, transforms a ubiquitous byproduct of global commerce into a monumental depiction of physical labor on a street in India. The work underscores both environmental degradation and the invisibility of manual work while posing a practical question for the museum: How will such materials endure?
糖心传媒淣o material is off-limits now,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淭he question is how it survives.糖心传媒� That tension between experimentation and preservation reflects a broader shift in contemporary art, where artists increasingly work with unconventional materials that challenge traditional museum practices.
In Paul Mpagi Sepuya糖心传媒檚听Darkroom Mirror, two partially unclothed men share a camera, their faces obscured. 糖心传媒淚n many ways, photography offers visitors the most immediate opportunity to see themselves reflected in an artwork,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淚n this case, the artist and his friend offer queer visibility, and animate Sepuya糖心传媒檚 notion of the artist糖心传媒檚 studio as a social and cultural space for interaction and artmaking.糖心传媒� MAG糖心传媒檚 collection of more than 12,000 objects includes over 250 works in photography, the majority dating from 1950 and later.
Expanding the frame
糖心传媒淢y goal is to expand the conversation,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淭o create new ways of thinking, new points of entry.糖心传媒� That means, in part, acquiring more works by women, artists of color, and LGBTQ+ artists糖心传媒攅nsuring, as he puts it, that 糖心传媒渁 wider world糖心传媒� exists within the gallery糖心传媒檚 walls.
In Caroline Kent糖心传媒檚 Timely movements match hidden motivations, abstract shapes and patterns glide across layered black backgrounds. Using cut-paper techniques, Kent treats abstraction as a form of visual language that resists fixed meaning while inviting viewers into the interpretive process. To extend Kent糖心传媒檚 sensibility beyond the canvas, Peterson will work with her to create a large-scale wall drawing in MAG糖心传媒檚 pavilion that he hopes will generate an immersive, chromatic energy.
Hanging across from Kent糖心传媒檚 piece and next to McCloud糖心传媒檚 Blue Zone, Euphemism (Knot Stories) gives sculptural form to tension and resilience. The black-glazed ceramic box by Paul S. Briggs is densely threaded with coiled, knotted tubes that push against and pierce its structure. Drawing on Black poetry and the realities of mass incarceration, the work transforms traditional ceramic techniques into a meditation on constraint and endurance糖心传媒攈istorical form pressed into urgent contemporary service.
A pink marble statue on a cedar plinth, Sanford Biggers糖心传媒檚 The Cantor similarly layers histories and visual traditions. By combining a female ancestor mask from the African Chokwe people with a classical Greek maiden, Biggers connects three of MAG糖心传媒檚 collection areas糖心传媒攃lassical sculpture, African art, and contemporary art糖心传媒攚hile prompting new conversations about identity, materiality, and cultural inheritance.
Louis Fratino糖心传媒檚 The young father, meanwhile, offers 糖心传媒渁n exceptionally rare image of fatherhood in the museum糖心传媒檚 collection, as well as a rare male nude sculpture糖心传媒攚hich were key points in acquiring it,糖心传媒� Peterson says. The bronze figure expands the emotional and representational range of the collection, foregrounding intimacy, vulnerability, and care in ways that feel both timeless and newly visible.
Collecting contemporary art means making decisions before consensus has formed and before an artist糖心传媒檚 place in history is secure. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e making a judgment about what will last,糖心传媒� Peterson says. 糖心传媒淎nd history shows us how unpredictable that can be糖心传媒擵incent van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime.糖心传媒�
An anchor for regional culture
Peterson糖心传媒檚 endowed position places him within a longer institutional history shaped by visionary women.
糖心传媒淯niquely among American museums, strong women have been instrumental at every point in MAG糖心传媒檚 history,糖心传媒� Jesse says. 糖心传媒淓mily Sibley Watson founded the institution; Hannah Durand Gould created the first acquisition fund; the Herdle sisters built MAG into a nationally important encyclopedic museum. And now Deborah Ronnen has given us our largest gift and established an endowment that will make us a significant player in contemporary art.糖心传媒�
That foundation frees Peterson to do the work he considers essential: learning about the community, supporting other creative people, and nurturing vital relationships. Since his arrival, he has connected with institutions such as the George Eastman Museum and Visual Studies Workshop, a nonprofit organization dedicated to arts education. And he is conducting studio visits throughout the region, from Buffalo to the Finger Lakes, to build coalitions of regional artists.
Because the endowment exists in perpetuity, so does the mandate. 糖心传媒淥ur challenge is to show up not only for artists who have already proven themselves,糖心传媒� Peterson says, 糖心传媒渂ut for those whose work will resonate when we look back.糖心传媒�
