a new face at CAMH
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston announces LA curator following surprise exit
The Houston arts scene has seen its second major hire — after another dramatic exit, no less — in just a few weeks. Recently, the Alley Theatre named Rob Melrose its new artistic director, following the abrupt retirement of longtime and controversial AD Gregory Boyd.
Now, in the wake of the sudden departure of popular director Bill Arning on October 24, The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston has announced the hire of a new curator. Rebecca Matalon comes to CAMH following a five-year stint at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA). She will begin work at CAMH in January 2019, according to a release. Matalon joins an existing curatorial team of Dean Daderko (curator) and Patricia Restrepo (exhibitions manager and assistant curator).
The hire also maintains a history at CAMH of promoting and cultivating a powerful feminist perspective within its curatorial practice, according to a statement. Matalon will be introduced to CAMH supporters at the museum’s annual event, Another Great Night, on November 7. The long-standing, ladies-only soirée was established as the counterpoint to The Museum of Fine Art, Houston’s all-men’s event taking place on the same evening.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be moving from one historic and forward-thinking art institution to another,” says Matalon in a statement. “CAMH’s rich and longstanding commitment to supporting experimental arts and artists is unparalleled. To join an institution that has, for 70 years, championed the art of our time and played a vital role within the Houston community is a tremendous honor and privilege. I greatly look forward to working with such esteemed colleagues and becoming a part of the city’s diverse and well-established art scene, which is renown for its world-class institutions and strong community support for the arts.”
In addition to Matalon’s work at MOCA, she is co-founder and curator at JOAN, a not-for-profit exhibition space in Los Angeles that is dedicated to presenting the work of emerging, under-recognized, and women artists.