The museum curator is responsible for the care and interpretation of the museum’s collections. They develop exhibitions, educational programs and publications, and work with the media to promote the museum and its collections. Join us for a conversation between Tobi Kahn and accomplished curator Douglas Dreishpoon (an art historian, curator, author, and educator with special expertise in visual art from the mid- to late-twentieth century) as we explore topics such as the meaning of a curator’s process and role, their motivation and approach in bringing works of art together, the financial and organizational principles of curating, and how curators impact the art world.

Dr. Douglas Dreishpoon, Chief Curator Emeritus at the Albright-Knox, is currently Director of the Catalogue Raisonné project at the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation in New York City. His 26 years of experience in museums include such roles as Curator of Collections at the Weatherspoon Art Museum at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1995–1998) and Curator of Contemporary Art at the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida (1991–1995). His essays, interviews, and reviews have been published in numerous catalogues, magazines, and journals, including Art in America, Art Journal, ARTnews, and Sculpture. Recent publications include The Long Curve: 150 Years of Visionary Collecting at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Skira, 2011); Guillermo Kuitca: Everything, Paintings and Works on Paper, 1980–2008 (Scala, 2009); ROBERT MANGOLD: Beyond the Line | Paintings and Project 2000–2008 (Abrams, 2009); Ken Price: Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Works on Paper, 1962–2010 (The Drawing Center, 2013); Giving Up One’s Mark: Helen Frankenthaler in the 1960s and 1970s (2014); Imperfections by Chance: Paul Feeley Retrospective, 1954–1965 (2015); and Nothing and Everything: Seven Artists, 1947–1962 (Hauser & Wirth, 2017). A former board member of the American Section of the International Association of Art Critics, Dreishpoon holds a Bachelor of Arts from Skidmore College, a master’s degree from Tufts University, and a PhD from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Tobi Kahn is a painter and sculptor whose work has been the subject in over 70 solo museum exhibitions since he was selected as one of nine artists to be included in the 1985 Guggenheim Museum exhibition, New Horizons in American Art. Kahn’s most recent solo exhibition, FORMATION: Images of the Body, opened virtually in December, 2020 at the Henry Luce III Center for Art and Religion at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. A short film by filmmaker Susan W. Dryfoos premiered that evening. The in-person exhibition will open at the Dadian Gallery in May 2022 with an accompanying catalogue. Works by Kahn are in major museum, hospital, sacred/interfaith spaces, corporate, and private collections. For close to four decades, Kahn has been steadfast in the pursuit of his distinct vision and persistent in his commitment to the redemptive possibilities of art. In paint, stone, and bronze, he has explored the correspondence between the intimate and monumental. While his early works drew on the tradition of American Romantic landscape painting, his more recent pieces reflect his fascination with contemporary science, inspired by the micro-images of cell formations, the environment and satellite photography. For over four decades, he has taught fine arts workshops at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He also designed the art curriculum for several high schools in the New York area and co-founded and facilitates the Artists’ Beit Midrash at the Streicker Center of Temple Emanu-El. Kahn lectures extensively at universities and public forums internationally on the importance of visual language and art as healing. Kahn received his BA in Photography and Printmaking from Hunter and an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from Pratt Institute. 

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, CA, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)