from staff
The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville has hired Marcelle Polednik as its new director. She will assume the post in late February.
“We are very excited to have Marcelle join us as the director of MOCA Jacksonville,” said Alan Howard, chair of MOCA Jacksonville’s board of trustees. “Marcelle’s well-known success as chief curator at the Monterey Museum of Art, her recognized scholarship, her mastery of the business side of museum operations and the energy that she brings to every task are the very qualities that we were looking for in our search for a new director.” he said.
“We are confident that Marcelle will lead MOCA Jacksonville to even greater heights in the years to come,” he said.
Since 2006, Polednik has served as chief curator of the Monterey Museum of Art in Monterey, Calif. During her tenure, Polednik organized more than 12 modern and contemporary art exhibitions, including the first solo exhibition of photographer Angela Strassheim and “In Process,” a new series devoted to the current work of mid-career and emerging artists.
She is presently organizing a major traveling exhibition of mid-century New York and San Francisco paintings, entitled “West to East: Retracing the Landscape of American Abstraction.” Polednik has authored a number of exhibition catalogs as well as articles during her tenure.
As the head of the curatorial division, she led a review of the permanent collection, added more than 200 acquisitions and garnered a number of major grants, including an award from the Henry R. Luce Foundation Fund for American Art.
Before her appointment at the Monterey Museum of Art, Polednik served as assistant curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she worked on the first major monographic exhibition of a noted American modernist, “Oscar Bluemner: A Passion for Color,” as well as a number of focused permanent collection exhibitions.
“Through dynamic and thought-provoking exhibitions and programs, the steady and strategic expansion of its collection, the enrichment of its financial resources, and the development of its partnership with the University of North Florida, MOCA Jacksonville will undoubtedly emerge as a singular and significant member of the regional and national arts community,” said Polednik.
Polednik holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. Her thesis, “History in the Making: Sigmar Polke and Photography,” focused on the conceptual, material and aesthetic impact of photography on Polke’s career and his diverse projects.
Before earning her master’s degree from New York University in 2001, Polednik received a B.A., with honors, in 1999 from the University of Southern California.
“It is an honor to be asked to lead the institution at this critical and exciting moment in MOCA’s history,” she said.
“I look forward to collaborating with the board of trustees, the colleagues at the University of North Florida, the talented staff of MOCA and the engaged Jacksonville community in building the future of this exceptional museum,” she said.