During her time at the Mead, Mardilovich has already curated two exhibitions that showcase her acumen for connecting the two collections under her purview: Constructing Collage and Fleeting Nature: Selections from the Collection (co-curated). She has also curated two exhibitions drawn specifically from the Mead’s Russian collection: Views from the Eastern Front: Russian Modernism and the Great War and Paste, Stick, Glue: Constructing Collage in Russia. The latter exhibition—an historical overview of the many ways in which Russian and Soviet artists employed collage, and the related techniques of film montage and photomontage—highlights the Mead’s tremendous collection resources in this area, including artworks by Liubov’ Popova, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova, El Lissitzky, Oscar Rabin, Oleg Kudryashov, and Alexander Kosolapov, among others.
“Galina is an outstanding scholar, teacher, and curator who, in her short time here, has already presented rich intellectual content in her exhibitions and built strong relationships with the Mead staff, faculty, and the broader Amherst College community,” said David E. Little, director and chief curator of the Mead Art Museum. “As a scholar who specializes in both prints and Russian art, Galina is uniquely positioned to create innovative exhibitions and programs, while extending our history of published scholarship in this field. I am excited that she has accepted this position and will be able to continue contributing to our community.”
Mardilovich received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (2013) and is currently working on a book that focuses on printmaking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her work has been supported by research fellowships and grants from the Gates Cambridge Trust, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Philosophical Society, Getty Research Institute, and Francis Haskell Memorial Fund, among others. In 2014, she was the recipient of the Mary Zirin Prize for independent scholarship, awarded by the Association of Women in Slavic Studies. Mardilovich has published widely, contributing articles and reviews to outlets such as The Burlington Magazine, Print Quarterly, and Art History.
“I am excited about the opportunity to invigorate the wonderful exhibition program and work of the Mead, and to find new ways of engaging with the rich collections here, for both the students and our broader community,” said Mardilovich. “It has been inspiring to work with colleagues across the Amherst College faculty, and I am looking forward to continuing to build those relationships.”
About the Mead Art Museum
Established with funds bequeathed by William Rutherford Mead (Class of 1867), a partner in the storied architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White, the Mead Art Museum holds the 19,000-object art collection of Amherst College, representing a wide range of historical periods, national schools, and artistic media. The Mead’s Thomas P. Whitney Collection of Russian Art features more than 600 objects created by artists in Russia and in exile in the 19th and 20th centuries. Whitney, a diplomat, writer, translator and journalist, graduated from Amherst College in 1937, co-created the Amherst Center for Russian Culture in 1991, and donated his collection of Russian artwork to Amherst College in 2001. The Mead’s collection also includes American and European paintings, Mexican ceramics, Tibetan scroll paintings, an English paneled room, ancient Assyrian carvings, West African sculpture, Korean ceramics, and Japanese prints, along with fine holdings of American furniture and silver.
Contact:
Danielle Amodeo
damodeo13@amherst.edu
413.542.5651 (o)