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World-respected arts administrator named director of The Rose Art Museum
Released on October 27, 2005Contact: David E. Nathan 781-736-4203 or dnathan1@brandeis.edu
Michael Rush, who built the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art into a world-renowned venue while serving as its director and chief curator, today was named director of The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University.
Rush will assume the position of Henry and Lois Foster Director of The Rose effective on Dec. 7.
“We are very excited to welcome Michael Rush to Brandeis as director of The Rose Art Museum,” Brandeis provost Marty Wyngaarden Krauss said. “He has distinguished himself as an arts administrator, curator, scholar, and artist, earning wide acclaim for his work in each area. He is a visionary and innovative leader who will bring The Rose to the next level of excellence.”
As director of The Rose, Rush will oversee and raise funds for a planned expansion and renovation of the museum that will include space for storage of paintings, sculpture, prints and drawings; administrative offices; education space; and a new gallery.
“I am deeply committed to the notion that art is among the most transformative aspects of human life,” Rush said. “Artists can be prophets, and museums are their vehicle for communicating with the public. I have a keen interest in continuing to extend The Rose’s reach across academic disciplines and into the Greater Boston community. I believe a museum can and should be an essential presence in the civic life of a region.”
Rush is a former Jesuit priest who holds a doctorate in theology and psychology from Harvard University.
As director and chief curator of the PBICA from 2000-2004, Rush established the structure and mission of the museum while also directing an active program of exhibitions, publications, lectures and educational programs.
In 2002, 2003, and 2004, The New York Times, Artforum and Art in America named the exhibitions and programs at PBICA as among the most important nationally and internationally.
A highly regarded writer, critic and scholar, Rush has authored several books, including “New Media in Art,” “New Media in Late 20th-Century Art” and “Video Art,” the first comprehensive survey of the history and current practice of video art worldwide. He has contributed to numerous publications, including The New York Times and Art in America, and hosts an internet radio program, “Rush Interactive,” on wps1.org.
Long committed to the exploration of new and interdisciplinary art forms, Rush was an award-winning experimental theater and video artist. He founded the New Haven Artists’ Theater in Connecticut and Seated Man in New York, two institutions devoted to the development and presentation of experimental art works in theater and multimedia.
“Upon meeting Michael Rush initially, one wants to have an extensive conversation with him,” said Nancy Scott, a professor of fine arts at Brandeis and a member of the search committee that interviewed candidates. “He has such a multi-faceted intellectual formation and one senses his curiosity about many areas of artistic practice.
“We’re very much looking forward to working with him as a colleague and look forward to the exhibits he will create.”
“He is a very respected fellow and highly knowledgeable about contemporary art,” said Gerald Fineberg, the chairman of the museum’s Board of Overseers. “We are lucky to have someone of his caliber at The Rose.”
“I think he is very smart, very personable, and very energetic,” said Lois Foster, a member of the Board of Overseers. “I think he has everything you would want in a director.”
Raphaela Platow has served as interim director since the departure of Joseph D. Ketner II, who resigned in the spring to become chief curator of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
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