The Wolfsonian–Florida International University has appointed Shoshana Resnikoff as curator, expanding its curatorial team to four.
Most recently an assistant curator for exhibitions and research at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), Resnikoff brings expertise in American decorative arts and design as well as experience with fashion, contemporary art, and digital projects, including two Google Cultural Institute collaborations.
She will work directly with Wolfsonian associate director of curatorial and education Jon Mogul and her colleagues to re-conceptualize the museum’s permanent collection display, organize special exhibitions, and create new avenues for research support at FIU.
“Shoshana’s insights about our collection, in addition to her very evident enthusiasm for The Wolfsonian and its mission, are incredible assets,” Mogul said. “I have no doubt that she will play a vital part in helping the museum achieve many new successes in the coming years.”
Director Tim Rodgers added, “We are fortunate to have Shoshana join us at The Wolfsonian. Her deep interest in American art and material culture will strengthen our curatorial team, while her educational and curatorial background are truly an ideal fit for the vast and varied collection of the museum. We look forward to her future exhibitions, which I am certain will convey her keen intelligence, remarkable training, and quick sense of humor.”
Prior to PEM, Resnikoff was a curatorial associate for the Terra Foundation for American Art and served as a collections fellow with the Cranbook Center for Collections and Research. She curated or co-curated six shows and oversaw the inventories of two historic houses (Frank Lloyd Wright’s Smith House, Thornlea House) while in these roles, and notably recreated Waylande Gregory’s landmark “Fountain of the Atom” from the 1939 New York World’s Fair. She has degrees from Emory University and the University of Delaware’s acclaimed American Material Culture program at Winterthur.
In her role at The Wolfsonian, Resnikoff aims to propose and pursue projects that underscore the museum’s reputation as a leading authority on decorative arts and design. Specific areas of interest on her wish list include textile design and examining the role of women in 19th and 20th Century design and production.
“I’m fascinated by the way The Wolfsonian’s collection reflects the complex relationships between objects, movements, and ideas,” Resnikoff said. “The museum deepens our understanding of the past while connecting meaningfully to contemporary issues facing Miamians and visitors from around the world. I’m thrilled to be joining the creative and fearless Wolfsonian team, and helping to explore these rich stories for longtime visitors and new audiences alike.”
The Wolfsonian–FIU is a museum, library, and research center that uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design, to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, historical, and technological changes that have transformed our world.
The collection comprises approximately 180,000 objects dating from 1850 to 1950 — the height of the Industrial Revolution through the aftermath of the Second World War — in a variety of media including furniture; industrial-design objects; works in glass, ceramics, and metal; rare books; periodicals; ephemera; works on paper; paintings; textiles, and medals.
The Wolfsonian is located at 1001 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach. Admission is $12 for adults; $8 for seniors, students, and children ages 6–18, and free for Wolfsonian members, State University System of Florida staff and students with ID, and children under 6. The museum is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sunday, noon–6 p.m., and is closed on Wednesday. Call 305-531-1001 or visit online at wolfsonian.org for further information.
